True Deception
by Riemann Hypothesis
Summary: Only a few weeks after the defeat of Ultimecia, information arrives that may shatter the peace that SeeD worked so hard to establish. Information that may indicate that everything they thought they knew, was wrong.
1. Old Habits Die Hard

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8.

_**Chapter 1**_

Two weeks elapsed since the threat of Ultimecia was put to rest. For just about everyone in the world, it was a time of rebuilding. Esthar, as a result of the Lunar Cry, had lost a considerable proportion of its military. After all, despite having the most advanced technology in the world, beasts like Iron Giants and Elnoyles were not a simple slay. Lunatic Pandora was moved back to Odine's Lab so that he could further investigate it. Following the events of two weeks prior, Esthar thought it best to work diligently to avoid such a catastrophe again.

The Gardens, of course, seemed to be the main topic of discussion throughout the world. Balamb Garden, seeing no need to remain mobile, returned to its original grandeur on the small island of Balamb. However, everyone agreed that the mobility of Garden be upgraded so that, in case the need ever arose, Garden could move in a near instant. The faculty of Garden also deviated, and this placed enormous strains on those who were new to their positions.

Cid was asked by all to return to his position as headmaster, however, having spent too many years away from his wife, he politely declined. Naturally, he recommended Squall for the job, but Squall declined as well, not wanting that much of a leadership responsibility. He could handle Commander since it involved fighting, but a job such as headmaster did not bode well with him. Of course, there was his other hidden agenda- his desire to spend as much time with Rinoa as he could. Squall's decline prompted Cid to next recommend Quistis, who graciously accepted.

Galbadia Garden was still nowhere to be found, having disappeared after the Battle of the Gardens. Finally, Trabia Garden initiated reconstruction as well. Since SeeD was directly responsible for the defeat of the world's most dangerous being, Garden was receiving more than enough funding and income to pursue any endeavor desired, including the reconstruction.

* * *

><p>"Squall! Hurry up! You're going to be late!" Rinoa called into Squall's room. She knew he was tired of all the press conferences and interviews. He was not the type to open up about his feelings of experiences unless in dire situations.<p>

"This is the third time today! This crap is more tiring than fighting!" He called back, lying in bed staring at the ceiling. He really just wanted some rest. He did save the world, after all.

"I know, I know. Pleeease? Quistis will get really ticked if you don't. Plus, you're the 'Legendary SeeD'! Everyone wants to know about you. The publicity will be over soon enough, so pleeease?" The young girl pleaded, really not wanting to incur the wrath of the newly appointed headmaster, who consistently asked Rinoa to get Squall to do things no one else could.

"I never asked to be the 'Legendary Seed'!"

"I know. But you are! Pleeeease?" If Squall had but one weakness, it was her. He could not refuse to do anything she asked of him. He knew all too well that in an instant, everything could change. Everything could be taken away. She could be taken away. So, despite his deepest wishes to be left out of the media spotlight, and to get some much needed rest, he crawled out of bed.

"Fine. Give me a minute." This response left a smile on Rinoa's face.

* * *

><p>"Headmaster Trepe, the original intent for Garden was to defeat the Sorceress. Now that Ultimecia has been defeated, how would you describe the goals of Garden now?" inquired a female reporter, glasses nearly falling off of her nose.<p>

The SeeDs involved in the Ultimecia affair were standing in an organized line, each SeeD having a podium to answer questions. Squall had remained quiet throughout the entire interview. Most of the questions were directed at Quistis anyways, thankfully.

"Well, I believe that Garden's goal was not just to defeat the Sorceress, as we demonstrated recently. We were involved in a war between two nations. Our goal then, and much of our goal now, is to uphold the world peace that has been established. Should a threat arise, SeeD will step up to the plate to overcome it. There are of course, other goals. All, though, are related to bettering the world," replied the confident Headmaster.

"Headmaster Trepe, it has become public knowledge that the new Sorceress Rinoa has come to reside in Balamb Garden. How do you think the rest of the world will react to this?"

Squall's head perked up. He had heard this question many times over. There was a concern among many in the public that Balamb Garden was using Rinoa as a threat just like Galbadia Garden did with Edea not so long ago. This could be seen as offensive to other nations, if taken in the wrong light. Still, Squall was always defensive about Rinoa, and what he did next shocked everyone.

"Allow me to address that question," Squall interjected. Quistis, as was everyone, was awestruck. Squall never wanted to answer questions.

'Guess I should've seen that coming,' Quistis thought.

"It's none of the world's business," he sternly replied. Xu, standing to the far right, placed her hands over her face in slight embarrassment over Squall's unprofessional response. Rinoa blushed and tried to hold back a smile. Her knight had come to her defense once again. The reporter blinked, confused, wondering whether she had offended the Commander. Quistis quickly stepped in to rectify the situation.

"Let me elaborate on what Squall means. There is a common notion held by people throughout the world that Sorceresses are evil. Indeed, many have been. Ultimecia and Adel were two such examples. However, everyone must remember that Rinoa is a sorceress ONLY because Ultimecia possessed her. Ultimecia has been dealt with, and Rinoa, despite being a sorceress, has no traces of Ultimecia within her. She, just like all of us, fought against Ultimecia, and fought for justice, and I can honestly say that without her, we would not have prevailed. People should NOT view her as a sorceress, but as a person. To directly address your question, Rinoa resides in Balamb Garden because she is one of us."

Again, Rinoa smiled at this response. She was extremely elated that she had such amazing friends.

After a few more questions, the press conference ended, much to the delight of everyone on stage.

"Man, thank Hyne. These reporters really piss me off," the ever-excited Zell commented.

"Seriously. How many more of these do we have to do?" Selphie asked, looking at Quistis.

"No clue. BUT. Irvine, next time we're at a press conference…please do not wear the hat, and please please please stop winking at the female reporters!" Then she turned towards Squall. "Nice reply, Commander Leonhart," she teased.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, not everything was as peaceful as the celebrations and media events portrayed it to be.<p>

"President Caraway!" A short yet muscular man in a suit entered the office of General, now President following the events of weeks prior, Caraway.

"Ah, General Li. Report."

"Our ranks have been regrouped to our previous strength and numbers. Our military is now operating at full strength. Preparations for Operation Phoenix are complete."

A mischievous grin found its way to President Caraway's face. "Perfect. Esthar, and their technology, will soon belong to us."

"President. If I may. I do not believe that now is a good time to disrupt the peace. Esthar poses no threat, and they are in the process of rebuilding as it is. Further, this could trigger low approval ratings. And, if we carry this out, we can be certain Garden will intervene, lowering our chances of success even more!"

Caraway retained his confident, cool smile, and walked over to the window. General Li followed.

"General, you are misunderstanding the operation." The general listened intently, hoping for some explanation.

"We will not attack Esthar. They will surrender before we even lift a finger. If Garden intervenes, however, and they surely will, we will crush them."

"I'm still not sure I follow, President. Why will Esthar surrender without a fight?"

Caraway's cool facial expression now turned to one of sourness.

"General, it sounds like you neither understand nor have much faith in my plan. There are two things I don't tolerate. Incompetence, and insubordination."

"No, President, I'm just saying –`` before he could finish, Caraway took a pistol from his belt, and shot the General square in the forehead at point blank range. He then walked over to a picture on his wall, and smiled once again.

"Esthar will surrender…because we have the threat of the Sorceress on our side."


	2. The Note

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.

**The Note**

Squall awoke from a much needed slumber, Rinoa lying beside him. He glanced at the clock, which read 6:27 a.m. Perfect, Squall could release some steam by doing some training. He slipped on his usual outfit, looked back at his gorgeous princess once more, and headed to the training center.

As he walked, he contemplated. 'I am so sick of all the media. So tired of all the questions. I just want to be left alone.' His anger levels rose, and he could feel his blood pressure moving in the same direction. This would prove to be quite unfortunate for any monsters that encountered him this morning. He neared the entrance of the training center, speeding his approach.

Upon entrance, he heard gunfire deep within. 'What the? Who else would be training this early? Could be trouble.' He unsheathed his Lionheart, and rushed in. Surprisingly, he spotted his cowboy friend, Irvine, blasting away a couple of grats.

"Serves ya well, ya sons of –"

"Irvine?" Irvine jumped at the sound of his name, and looked back.

"Ah, Squall. What's up?"

"I could ask the same. Why are you training so early?"

"Hey, hey! You make it sound like I'm not the type to train!" he teased.

"That doesn't answer my question," the commander replied uninterestingly.

"Egh. How about we talk it out while battling some T-rexaurs, eh?" Squall was expecting to be training alone, but he figured it might let off some more steam this way. He nodded in compliance.

* * *

><p>About three T-rexaurs and sixteen grats later, Squall and Irvine rested on a rock near the back of the training center.<p>

"Phew! What a rush!" Irvine took off his hat and used it as a fan for his sweating face.

"Sure," was the only reply he received from Squall, while deep in contemplation. Irvine saw the need to talk, so he proceeded.

"Ya know," causing Squall's head to shift in his direction, "when we boarded the Ragnarok in Esthar that last time, to go fight in Lunatic Pandora. I knew that the hardest battle we'd ever fought was coming. But, I was happy."

Squall pondered, and realized he agreed, for probably the same reasons that he guessed Irvine did.

"It's like…it was so close to freedom. So close to this long war we'd waged coming to an end. We could all just settle down and be happy. And I could be with…well, with Selphie." Irvine looked over at his friend for some reassurance, certain he'd receive no response for the ever-quiet Squall.

"Yep." The cowboy looked genuinely surprised. "At that same time, all I could think about was how Rinoa would become free from this agony. The threat of evil sorceresses would be gone, the dangers would be gone, and I'd be with her to stay." He looked down, disappointingly.

"Squall, you've changed man." The gun wielding warrior grinned mischievously, prompting Squall to look back up.

"I know. Before I met her…all I thought about was myself. My training. My orders. My life seemed so predetermined. I would be deployed somewhere SeeD services were needed, and I'd do as commanded." He smiled slightly. "But now, I'm the commander, and all I can think about is her."

"So uh, when's the wedding?" This evoked a glare from Squall. Though Squall had definitely opened up more, thoughts of things like marriage were not things he wished to discuss. Then he grinned again.

"I could ask the same of you."

Irvine rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I ahh, don't think Selphie would go for something like that for a while. She's too…too…fun-loving, shall we say?"

Squall was about to say "I know what you mean," in concurrence with Selphie's energetic personality, before Irvine continued with, "And believe me, I looooove fun." He winked.

'I did not need to know that.'

"So uh, on to more serious stuff. When do you think all of this crap will boil over?"

"No clue, but hopefully soon. If one more reporter makes a remark about Rinoa being a sorceress, I don't think I'd be able to contain a few Rough Divides. I really just want to spend time with her."

Irvine felt sorry for his friend. Squall had done so much over the past few months that it was unthinkable. He had taken part in an assassination attempt, been tortured, prevented missiles from hitting Garden, been promoted to Commander, lead an attack during an inter-Garden war, fought evil sorceresses, went into space, discovered a country that nobody's heard from for 17 years (and spent days walking there, while carrying Rinoa), then lead the final assault on Ultimecia. He had to think of something to help, but…what? Then it hit him.

"Hey, I have an idea." Squall looked up, curiously. "Why don't you take a vacation with Rinoa? Screw the reporters."

Squall was about to protest, but realized that the idea wasn't half bad. "Yeah…but unfortunately, I can't really think of many places to go. Deling City is in near chaos after all that's happened, and probably wouldn't welcome us anyway. Timber would be stressful on Rinoa. Dollet…that's just boring, and there would be reporters there. Winhill, there's not much scenery for a relaxing vacation."

"What about FH?" Irvine suggested. "The people of FH are welcoming, there wouldn't be any reporters, and the scenery is amazing."

"Irvine…that is actually a good idea. I'll suggest it to Rinoa later." He gave his friend a small smile. This made Irvine feel accomplished. Still, it didn't solve his Selphie problem, but as Squall always said, whatever.

* * *

><p>"Headmaster Trepe!" a formally dressed SeeD entered Quistis' office, giving a salute.<p>

"Cmon, Xu! Call me Quistis!" she laughed.

"Ha, okay. Quistis," Xu smiled back.

"So what's up?"

"The president of Esthar called a minute ago. He said nothing was urgent, but that he found something you might find interesting." Quistis looked surprised, and Xu handed her a manila folder.

"Laguna?" She opened the folder to see some pictures. "What is this?"

"Well, as you know, Esthar's Lunar Base was destroyed, but some of its satellites remained intact. This photo was taken by its satellites around eight hours ago. This location is near the Centra Ruins, but we, nor they, have any idea what this large object is." Xu pointed to the object in question. "Shortly after the photos were taken, the object just disappeared." A chill ran up Quistis' spine. She didn't want to hear about any weird things going on, not this soon after all that'd happened.

"Hm. I have a guess." Quistis looked confident, crossing her arms.

"You do? What is it?"

"Even if the satellites survived, the Lunar Cry and the presence of Lunatic Pandora have probably caused the satellites to malfunction. I doubt there's anything in the world that large that we don't know of, and Esthar is the only country that has the technology to make something that large disappear. Has to be a malfunction."

Xu saw no errors in her friend's reasoning, and she, better than anyone, knew that more often than not, Quistis was right on target.

"You're probably right…I hope."

"Nonetheless, I'll let Squall take a look. And Zell. For some odd reason, he seems to know a lot of trivia, so he might have an idea." Xu nodded in agreement.

"Well, that was all I had to report. See ya later, Head…Quistis!" the girl walked out of Quistis' office, and the two friends exchanged smiles.

* * *

><p>After Squall decided he had enough training, he figured he'd might as well get some lunch. Once inside the cafeteria, he noticed Rinoa in line as well. 'This will be a good lunch,' he smiled.<p>

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, surprising her.

"Commander Leonhart, what kind of example are you setting for your young cadets? Public displays of affection?" she teased, winking.

"Meh. Screw examples." She smiled at his remark, completely expecting it. He smiled back, lovingly gazing into her eyes.

"I SAID NEXT!" the cafeteria lady yelled. This broke the duo apart temporarily, both blushing.

After both ordered, they took a seat. Rinoa looked at Squall, who was eating very slowly, like he wanted to say something.

"Something wrong, Squall?" Squall looked up.

"Well. I was talking to Irvine earlier, and he had a great idea for us."

Rinoa blushed, and put her hand in her palm. 'Great, please don't tell me that darn cowboy's perverted my boyfriend! Well…that would actually be a good idea…' Her face reddened at her thoughts.

"Uh, something the matter?"

"Oh, heh, nothing," she muttered. "So what was this great idea?"

"Well, we haven't had much time to spend together, and really since we met, our lives have been full of stress. So…why don't we take a vacation?" Rinoa perked up, and considered the idea. He was right. Not once had they been able to just spend quality time together without worry of the future.

"Sure but…to where?"

"How about FH?"

"FH? Squall Leonhart, you want to take me fishing for our first vacation?"

Squall smiled. She had said 'first vacation'. This would imply there will be more vacations. Which meant she had every intention of staying with him. The thought was the most comforting he'd had in…well, forever.

"Nah, not fishing. But the people are welcoming, unlike Galbadians, there won't be many reporters, unlike just about everywhere else except Winhill, but unlike Winhill, there's actually nice scenery."

What he said made sense. "Sounds like a plan to me!" she squealed, smile from ear to ear. "When do we leave?"

"Well, I want to take care of any last minute business today so…how about tomorrow?"

"Are you sure you can just take off like that?"

"There's no imminent world destruction, no havoc wreaking monsters, and no political chaos…except Galbadia, but whatever. So I see no reason not to."

"Then let's do it!"

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Squall arrived at the third floor to see to any duties he had for the day, which he hoped were none. He knocked on Quistis' door.<p>

"Come in!" Ever the obedient SeeD, he entered. "Ah Squall! Just the guy I need to see."

'Great. So I do have to do crap today.' "What is it?" he asked.

"Your fa…Laguna called in today." She knew he was still touchy on the whole Laguna being his father topic.

'Even better.'

"Apparently, Esthar's satellites picked up something strange."

'Perfect. Another threat to the planet.'

She handed him the manila folder containing the pictures. He analyzed them intently.

"Where, and what, is this?"

"The location was apparently near Centra Ruins. As far as the large object, we have no idea. Though Laguna said that soon after the pictures were taken, the object just disappeared." Squall became slightly edgy at this comment. "Any ideas?" Quistis asked.

"Satellite malfunction. Judging from the scale, this object is the size of a small town, which we know is not there. And Esthar would be the only country with the technology to make something like that disappear."

Quistis nodded. "That was exactly my conclusion. Well, guess that's one less problem to worry about, though I'd like Zell to take a look at it." Squall nodded. Zell always seemed to know a lot about random stuff. He recalled back to when, on their first mission, Zell gave him a rundown on the history of Timber. Then, he was the only one of the group to know about the Deep Sea Research Center. He might have heard of other geographic 'things', or whatever this was.

"Is that all for today, Quistis?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then…" He didn't really know how to say that he wanted to go on vacation. He knew Quistis had no authority over him, and even if she did, she'd be understanding, yet he still felt uneasy for some reason.

"What is it, Squall?"

"I uh…Rinoa and I want to go on vacation. Tomorrow."

The young headmaster smiled, understandingly. Even if Squall hadn't come up with the idea himself, she'd have forced the two to go anyways. They needed a break! "Not a problem! Who do you want to be Commander as your replacement?"

"Zell will do."

"Gotcha."

Squall began to walk out the door, relieved that he was so close to freedom and relaxation, when Quistis stopped him.

"Oh, actually, there is one more thing." Squall sighed.

"What?" He turned around.

"This came in for you a few hours ago. Someone wrote you a letter, with the word 'Urgent' on the front." Squall walked back to her desk, and took the letter from her. He opened it quickly, getting a bad feeling.

The note was strange. All it said was "Meet me tomorrow. Five a.m." There were coordinates provided. Squall, not being the geography major, did not know the coordinates by memory. He thought it might be some kind of spam. Who would want to meet him at five in the morning? Still, he thought it at least responsible to look up where the location was.

"Quistis, mind if I borrow your computer for a moment?"

"Sure, go ahead." She turned the computer screen around to him, and pushed the keyboard towards him. He clicked on the MAP program, and entered the coordinates provided, and the given location was one he did not want to see.

'Best news of the day.' He recognized the location instantly - it was where he got his scar.


	3. Rivals

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.

**Rivals**

Squall didn't sleep a wink. All night, he pensively pondered what his archrival wanted this time. Would he challenge Squall to yet another massive duel? Would he try to ambush and kill him? Scenario after scenario entered his mind, worrying him with each passing second. He plotted exactly what he should do in each of them, refusing to allow himself to be caught off guard. Finally, it was time to get up. 4:00 a.m. It took about 45 minutes of walking from Garden to reach the location that he and Seifer fought.

Squall got out of bed, and put on his usual attire, exercising enough caution not to wake Rinoa. Sheathing his Lionheart, he departed. As he reached the outside of Garden, he looked back, gazing at its majestic beauty. The magnificent blue and golden lights radiating from Garden extended far into the night skies. He hadn't had the chance to do this since he and Quistis met up at the Secret Spot the night of the SeeD exam. He missed this. This was his home. After one last glance, he remembered the reason he was out at this forsaken hour in the first place, and continued on.

He reached the hill, the given location, right on time. Looking around, he didn't sense anyone. Had he been fooled? Was this just a trick?

"Dammit, I can't believe I fell for…" Just then, he heard footsteps. Whipping his gunblade out, he took a defensive position.

"Always the warrior, eh Squall?" his archrival slowly stepped out of the darkness into the light Garden provided from seemingly so far away. He had a smile on his face, and Raijin and Fujin followed in suit behind him.

'Dammit, I hadn't considered they might be with him. I don't know if I can beat all three of them at once,' he thought.

"Let me guess. You're surprised to see Raijin and Fujin, and wondering how you'll take on all three of us, right?" Seifer smirked, knowing Squall all too well. Squall glared. "Don't worry, _Commander Leonhart_, we're not here to challenge you."

Squall stared in shock. If Seifer wasn't there to fight him, what the hell did he want? Squall looked at Seifer and noticed his Hyperion was not even with him. Maybe he really didn't want to fight this time, for some odd reason. Or maybe he did, but got better at martial arts?

"What do you want, Seifer?" he asked, letting his gunblade drop to his side, backing out of his defensive position.

"Actually, we want to help you."

"Tch," Squall sarcastically laughed. "How can you help me? You're a wanted criminal!"

"All the more reason you should trust me." Seifer got within a few feet of Squall, at which they were nearly face to face.

"That's illogical. That's more reason I shouldn't trust you." He did not _want_ to trust the man standing before him, but probably not for the reason most would expect. He could forgive Seifer for the scar, as such things are expected to happen during combat training. He could even forgive Seifer for the betrayal of Garden, since he could understand Seifer's frustration at so many attempts at becoming a SeeD. But what he could not forgive, what he could not forget, was when he tried to sacrifice Rinoa to Adel. This thought made his blood boil to the point of eruption, and he punched Seifer square in the face, knocking him down.

Surprisingly, neither Raijin nor Fujin attempted to help, and Seifer did not attempt to defend. Instead, Seifer started laughing. "Haha, I won the bet, guys." Squall looked bewildered. 'What bet?'

"I bet them you'd punch me in the face within one minute of seeing me. They bet you wouldn't."

"Why didn't you dodge?"

"Because I deserved it. That was for Rinoa, am I right?" Squall nodded, ashamed he had been so predictable thus far. "Look, for what it's worth…I'm sorry." Squall looked up, completely astonished he had heard those words. His mouth slightly hung open in disbelief.

"What?"

Seifer's smile transformed into an expression of immense sorrow. It wasn't the arrogant, cocky expression which he wore since as far as Squall could remember. This was the expression of a man who was defeated. A man who had nothing left in the world. And it wasn't a feign – Squall could tell it was genuine. From reading his face, Squall guessed what might come next.

"Galbadia used me. The Sorceress used me. And I became a pawn for them. But Garden…treated me as one of their own. Granted, I often had disciplinary action taken against me, but that was my own fault. Yet I betrayed all of you. I launched missiles at Garden, tortured you personally, and tried to kill you in battle. I'm not asking to come back to Garden. Such a request is completely unacceptable at this point. But, I do apologize for everything."

Squall had no idea what to say. Out of all the scenarios that passed through his mind last night, this one wasn't one of them. He would have expected Ultimecia to promote world peace before he expected this. He did have one question, however.

"Why me?" Seifer looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You could've apologized to anyone. You could've called anyone out here. Why me?"

"First of all, don't feel entirely flattered, Puberty Boy. I didn't call you here just to apologize. As I said before, we want to help you. And the world. And since you're in charge, you would be the best person to tell. But, on that note, I owe you, more than anyone, the apology. You spared my life in battle. Multiple times."

"Actually, you owe Rinoa the apology. I'm a SeeD. Putting my life on the line is to be expected. But not her. She never asked for any of that," Squall replied sternly. Seifer dropped his head. "Now…you said you wanted to help. What do you mean by that?"

This time, Fujin stepped up and replied. "INFORMATION."

Raijin, of course, also contributed some input. "Top secret information, ya know?"

"What information?"

Seifer spoke up. "We've gotten word that Galbadia is planning something, once again."

"Just freakin' great. Why can't they leave anything alone?" Seifer laughed at the irony, as he had been one of the leaders of the Galbadian army just a few weeks before. "So, Seifer, what exactly are they up to?" he asked, unbelieving at first. He found it extremely hard to conceive that Seifer would not only apologize, but now that he was giving up information about Galbadian plans to him. Something was fishy. Something was amiss, somewhere. Should he trust Seifer? Well, it couldn't hurt to hear him out.

"Well, first of all, you know who the new president is, right?"

"They have a new president?" This question took Squall completely by surprise. Of course, Galbadia had shut themselves off since the incidents of a few weeks back, so news of anything Galbadian had become somewhat of a rare occurrence.

"I can see the _Commander_ hasn't kept up on world news," Seifer mocked, trying to elicit a response from Squall. "Anyway, it's your girlfriend's dad. Ain't _that_ ironic?"

"Caraway is president now?"

"You bet."

"That's great! Since Rinoa is with us, he'll probably ease off of Galbadia's conquest hunger."

"INCORRECT," replied the white-haired woman.

"Just as bad, ya know?"

"Squall, if anything, Caraway is worse than Deling."

"What do you mean? He helped us set up the assassination against Edea?"

Seifer chuckled. "So naïve. Did you ever wonder exactly WHY a general in the army would assist you in that kind of assassination?" Squall didn't have a response, as he always just thought it was because Edea was evil at that time. "I'll tell you why- because HE wanted the power. Edea was Deling's ace-in-the-hole. Nobody would disobey him if Edea was an ally. But if Edea was gone, who would be left to insure Deling's presidency? Squall, you were set up from the get-go."

"Set up?" He didn't like the sound of those words, and didn't like that it had taken so long to find out about something of this magnitude.

"There was another sniper present that day."

Squall was shocked at what he was hearing. He couldn't believe it. He didn't recall seeing anyone else suspicious around.

"I…don't understand."

"You and Irvine were meant to assassinate the Sorceress. This was arranged cooperatively with Garden and Caraway. The other sniper, courtesy of ONLY Caraway, was to assassinate President Deling. The deaths of those two would squarely leave Caraway in charge. Of course, since Edea beat the sniper to killing Deling, and the assassination didn't work, there was never any mention of this. You, and SeeD, were to be blamed for all of it, locked up, and executed. Also ever wonder why Caraway just left you guys in D-District Prison? Hm? Because with you all taking the blame, any of his involvement would never be uncovered."

This was too much to take in. His girlfriend's dad actually tried to set them up and have them executed. Should he believe Seifer?

"Wait…how do you know all of this?" Squall asked, becoming suspicious of the man's knowledge.

"Forget already? I was the leader of their army once. It only makes sense that I still have sources high up in the government." This was true, and shouldn't have been surprising.

"Damn. So, then what the hell is Caraway planning?"

"ESTHAR." Squall felt his legs go numb at this response.

"W…what?" he stammered.

"Now that Esthar's come out of secrecy, Galbadia sees what kind of technology it has, and realizes they are far outmatched. They want to take over Esthar's weapon technology, to become the most elite power in the world."

Squall speculated over this a minute.

"That doesn't make any sense. How? They tried Lunatic Pandora and using Sorceress Adel, and none of it worked. Even with the Lunar Cry, Galbadia didn't put a dent in Esthar. What possibly makes them so confident they can do it?"

"That's what I'm still trying to figure out. I have heard rumors, however."

"Rumors?"

"Geez Squall, you'd think someone casted Blind on you or something. The world knows Rinoa is a sorceress, and the world also knows Rinoa is his daughter. He could use this as a threat to try to scare Esthar."

Again, Squall was slapped in the face with the obvious. How many surprises were going to be thrown at him today? Already his surprise count was way higher than he anticipated. Still, something didn't add up.

"That wouldn't work."

Seifer looked up, curiously. "Hm? How do you know?"

"Everyone knows Rinoa is with us in Balamb. Including Laguna, who…happens to be uh…"

This time it was Seifer who was lost. What was Squall trying to say? He knew the president of Esthar's name was Laguna, and surely him and Squall had met since they collaborated on the Time Compression Mission together. Wait, Laguna. That was the guy's name who he saw in Lunatic Pandora right after Adel. He looked familiar, somehow…kind of like…

"Holy shit! Squall, don't tell me that the president of the most technologically advanced nation in the world is your father!" Seifer was wide-eyed at the realization. Squall nodded. Only one of the trio had any remark.

"DAMN," replied Fujin. After the moment of realization sunk in, they got back down to business.

"So, Laguna is your father, meaning he definitely knows Rinoa is on your side, and hence his. Therefore, any threat Galbadia makes using Rinoa will be completely ineffective. Interesting," he reasoned to himself. Squall, listening intently, nodded at Seifer. "I wonder what in the blue hell that man could be up to then…"

"Well, maybe Caraway doesn't know that Laguna knows that Rinoa is on our side?" Squall tried to provide an explanation.

"Doubt it. Word is, Galbadia's army is operating back at full capacity, which means their intelligence is, too. Also, I doubt anyone in the world missed Commander Leonhart lash out at the reporter asking about Rinoa staying in Garden," he laughed, Fujin and Raijin joining him. After a moment, he regained his composure. "Well, if the Rinoa thing isn't the case…then I'm actually worried."

"Why?"

"Caraway seems to be very confident in his ability to take Esthar. Rumor has it he's said that the army won't even have to fight for Esthar to surrender. Everyone thought it would be the threat of Rinoa, but you just confirmed that that's not the case, which means…"

"He's got something else up his sleeve."

"Exactly."

They all sat down and thought for a few minutes. The sun was now beginning to rise on the horizon. Squall remembered that he was going on vacation today, and he hadn't even packed yet. Further, Rinoa would surely be up soon.

"I have to get back to Garden soon," he said, breaking the silence. The trio looked up at him.

"Got paperwork to do this early in the morning?" Seifer joked.

"Actually…I was…" he didn't know whether or not to tell Seifer he was going on vacation. Sure, Seifer had just told him about Galbadia's plans, but what if he was working as a double agent? What if the only reason Seifer was there was to pass on false information to set up Garden? If Galbadia knew Squall, the Commander of Garden, AND Rinoa, the sorceress, were gone, it'd make them wide open for attack. Should he risk that by trusting in the man who so often betrayed him?

"Can't discuss such high security matters, huh? It's alright." Seifer stood up from the rock he'd been sitting on. Then, he did something that topped off the list of surprises for Squall. He extended his hand.

"Seifer…" After a moment of contemplation, he shook the man's hand, feeling he had earned at least some trust for what he was doing. "Apology accepted," he offered a slight smile. "And thank you, for the information. If you find out anything else…"

"You'll be receiving more 5 a.m. requests in your mailbox," the man offered a slight smile in return.

"Raijin, Fujin, it was great seeing both of you. And thank you as well." The two nodded in return, and Squall headed back.

'Yep, I definitely need that vacation now.'


	4. Vacation?

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.

_**Vacation?**_

One change made to Balamb Garden since the defeat of Ultimecia was the addition of a boarding ramp for the Ragnarok. It was constructed on the third floor, on the opposite side of garden as the 2F Balcony. All of the cadets at Garden adored the airship, and honestly, who could blame them? It looked wicked! The door to the 3F Boarding Ramp had a code that only the highest personnel (meaning Xu, Cid, and the usual crew) knew.

Squall decided the Ragnarok would be the best means of transportation to FH. It didn't make sense to make Garden mobile again just so the commander could take a vacation, and catching a train to Timber and walking a couple hundred miles was not the idea of a vacation at all!

As they boarded the Ragnarok, Squall and Rinoa glanced out over the Boarding Ramp at the majestic scenery. From there, one could see the entire island of Balamb, including the tranquil beaches, pristine forests, and gorgeous blue mountains. The sun was setting, and it made the moment even more relaxing. Despite all of the hard troubles that had preceded, it was moments like this that reminded them that everything was worth it. Though despite however relaxing it was, neither Squall nor Rinoa seemed to be enjoying it. Both seemed to be preoccupied with their thoughts.

Squall was worried about the news Seifer had given him earlier that day. Should he be taking off like this if Galbadia is threatening another World War? What could Caraway be up to? Should he even believe Seifer in the first place? And if not, what were Seifer's true intentions? So many questions plagued his mind, and Rinoa took notice, despite having overwhelming thoughts of her own.

"Squall?" Squall was dragged out of his thoughts back into reality. "Is something wrong?"

He didn't want to lie to her, but news like this would be extremely stressful for her. And he knew she already had enough stress to deal with due to the media.

"No." Rinoa kept staring at him, trying to read his expressions.

"Then why don't you seem relaxed or excited about our vacation?"

"I am! I'm just a little tired from work, that's all." He looked at her more squarely. "What about you? You don't seem as enthused as I'd expect, either."

She looked back over the ramp to the view, gazing towards the infinite as thoughts haunted her once more. "I'm just…"

'That's a first. She always says what she wants to say.'

"Is it the reporters?"

"I mean, a little, but…" She turned to look at him. "You remember the other day when you said you never asked to be the Legendary SeeD?"

"Yeah." How could he forget?

"Well, I never asked to be a sorceress!" He actually did not expect this to be the problem. Squall thought she had become accustomed to her new powers, and was welcoming her new magical abilities. "Everyone thinks I'm evil, people won't leave me alone. I just want to go back to being normal, you know?"

"I understand. I'm so sorry, Rinoa." His face read one of remorse and desolation.

"Huh?" A puzzled look found its way to her face. "Why are you sorry?"

"If I hadn't brought you into danger, you wouldn't have inherited these powers. Then none of this would have ever happened." Rinoa considered this for a moment. She didn't believe that for one second, and didn't want him to tear himself up over something that was not his fault.

"Squall, you're wrong."

"What?"

"Life is too uncertain to have regrets. For all we know, what happened was for the best. I mean, Ultimecia has been defeated, and we ended up together. If I hadn't inherited the Sorceress powers, maybe things would have turned out differently. Instead of focusing on should have, would have, or could have, let's focus on the future. Okay?"

Squall grinned. "Sometimes, your logic is just too good to argue with."

Rinoa proudly stood up straight and smiled.

"Okay, then let's focus on the future. You don't want to be a Sorceress?"

"Definitely not!"

"Then maybe there's a way to fix it?"

"I doubt it."

"Why?"

"Well, since we got back to Garden, I've spent a lot of time in the library reading up on Sorceresses. I have not come across any way in which Sorceress powers can be given up willingly without passing it on to someone else via dying."

He didn't want to argue with her, as she had clearly done more research on the subject than he had. Still, he didn't want to give up hope. He did not want her to be miserable. Whatever her wish, however impossible, he was willing to try.

"I guess we're just wasting time talking about this stuff, huh? Shouldn't we get to FH?" Rinoa asked, pointing to the Ragnarok. The two started walking together towards the giant airship, when a memory found its way to Squall's mind. He stopped dead in his tracks, deep in thought. Rinoa turned around to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't respond. He was stunned that such a memory could have found its way to his mind at such an optimal time, and further, he was stunned he remembered the event at all since he wasn't paying any attention to the event when it happened.

"Rinoa…maybe there is a way for you to get rid of your Sorceress powers." Her head tilted slightly in curiosity, and her jaw gaped slightly.

"Um…what? How?"

"Screw FH. We're going to Esthar."

* * *

><p>Zell stood in front of the Headmaster's Door, waiting to go in. He was a little reluctant at first. He was hoping to Hyne that Quistis had not gotten word of the incident earlier that day. It all happened when Zell woke up. He realized he had overslept, but decided he needed food before the day's duties. He bolted to the cafeteria, and while in the hallway leading up the cafeteria, accidentally knocked over a girl carrying her lunch. Realizing what he had done, he stopped in his tracks, apologized, and extended a hand to help her up. However, his apology was met with a fist to the face from her boyfriend, who had been walking with her. As a mere reaction, he punched the guy in the gut, causing him to fly several feet back. Needless to say, he had to be taken to the infirmary, and Zell was scolded by authorities. Especially Dr. Kadowaki.<p>

"Come in, Zell!" Quistis called.

He entered slowly, expecting a whip heading his way. Surprisingly, he saw Quistis seated at her desk, and her whip was not in her hand.

"What's up, Quisty?" He took a seat at the chair in front of her desk.

"I have a question for you."

'Damn…here it comes.'

"Take a look at these pictures." She handed a manila folder to Zell. He opened it and looked intently at the pictures.

"What is this supposed to be?" He was confused. Why was he needed for this? Was this a test?

"Esthar's satellites spotted this earlier today near Centra Ruins. But soon after the photographs were taken, the object just disappeared. Squall and I have the same theory on this matter, but we wanted to get your opinion." Zell looked up.

"And what's your theory?"

"Satellite malfunction. There's nothing that big that we don't know of, and Esthar is the only nation that has the technology to make something that big disappear."

He considered this for a moment, and then a serious look found its way to Zell's face. "You're both wrong. It didn't disappear. It moved."

Quistis looked stunned. "Then, you know what it is?"

"Yes. And you should, too."


	5. Panic

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.

_**Panic**_

Rinoa was in a state of utter bewilderment as she chased Squall to the Ragnarok. He hadn't provided even the slightest explanation before starting to run towards the airship. Why in the heck would he want to go to Esthar? How would that help? Last time she was there, they tried to seal her up for eternity. Still, she had no choice but to follow Squall.

Once aboard the ship, Squall quickly found his seat in the pilot's chair, Rinoa buckling up beside him.

"Uh, Squall…are you really going to pilot this?" She seemed a little skeptical, as she had never seen him pilot before.

"Trust me," was all that he replied. She quickly forgot about the issue, and jumped straight into the more pressing matters.

"Why Esthar?" she asked, hearing the engines starting up. Squall started up the ship, and it began to rise into the air. Rinoa stared at him, waiting for his response.

"Rinoa…when you were unconscious, back when you inherited your powers, I took you to Esthar," he started.

"I know, we ended up in space. What a mess. What does that have to do with anything, though?"

"Since you were unconscious, you don't know this, but Edea…Matron also went with us. She wanted to find a way to suppress her powers, and she believed Odine could help." This ignited a spark of curiosity within the young sorceress.

"Did he?" Squall looked down for a moment, as if remorseful about something.

"I…don't know. This may sound selfish, but at the time, I really didn't care. The only thing I could focus on was getting you to Ellone, so that I could help you. However, I do recall Odine coming into the room upon hearing Matron's request saying something like 'Zat vill be easy.'".

"So you think Odine might be able to help?"

"Well, he's spent his entire life researching magic and sorceresses, so he might."

Hope found its way to Rinoa, but then, vanished again. "Squall…I don't know if we could trust a man like that. It is obvious he values his research more than human life, and probably even more than the world itself."

"He irritates the hell out of me, too. But if it means helping you, and you are willing to try, then so am I," he looked over and grinned, while piloting the Ragnarok through the air. Then he frowned. "Wait, what do you mean the world itself? He came up with the plan to defeat Ultimecia, and came up with the technology to seal up Adel. I know he's selfish when it comes to an individual's life, like when he experimented on Ellone, but the entire world?"

"Yeah, but don't some things sound a little fishy to you?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, as you said, he spent his entire life researching magic and sorceresses. He's the most prominent scientist in the entire world- no one has more knowledge or authority on these matters than him. So when you brought me to him, don't you think he would have known what was wrong with me? I mean, here was Edea, who clearly was not possessed by Ultimecia anymore, and here was me, unconscious, with no explanation. Surely he knew Ultimecia possessed me. Yet he still sent me to space where Adel was."

Those were some damn good points. I mean, looking in retrospect is always obvious, but damn. Even someone with a basic knowledge of Sorceresses would have figured something like that out. They were so concerned with the world affairs at the time that they completely overlooked it. But surely someone like Odine knew. In fact, he suddenly remembered when Odine commented on Rinoa's unconscious body saying "So this is what happens." And surely, he knew of the risks of sending Rinoa into space. Which means, he did put the entire world in danger. Which means Rinoa was right- he would sacrifice the entire world for his research. That midget bastard.

"And yes, he did come up with the technology to seal up Adel. But again, that was his research. Whether the plan worked or not was the ultimate test for his technology. Same thing with the plan for Ultimecia," she continued.

Again, damn good points.

"I see," he grimaced. 'Maybe I shouldn't trust the Doctor. Dammit, I just can't trust anyone! Apparently Caraway set us up, Odine nearly sacrificed us, and who even knows about Seifer anymore.'

"Rinoa, if you don't want to go, I completely understand. I'm so sorry for forcing that decision all of a sudden. I would never, ever, let that man do anything to you. But, if you really want to suppress your powers, he, honestly, is probably the only person who would know how."

"I agree about Odine, but there's no need to apologize. Let's go to Esthar." She smiled. Squall had changed so much. A bit of nostalgia hit her at that moment. She recalled shortly after the Timber mission. They were on their way to Galbadia Garden and were passing through a forest. Zell had been so worried that the government might retaliate against Balamb Garden due to his actions, and Rinoa felt sympathy for him. Sure, he hadn't thought things through, but Squall wasn't showing him any compassion at all. So, Rinoa called him on it. He never apologized. In fact, ironically, she had been the one to apologize to him! Yet here he was now, apologizing yet again for something he didn't even do, and without anyone mentioning anything. It was cute.

* * *

><p>"So what does this mean?" Quistis started shaking at the revelation. Darn it, sometimes Zell was too clever for his own good. How the heck could she and Squall have missed it?<p>

"Not sure," Zell replied, shaking his head. "But I bet it can't be good."

The tension in the room was as thick as the cafeteria's soup.

"Zell, what should we do?" The martial artist looked surprised at this question.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Did nobody tell you?" She nearly giggled. "You're temporary commander." His eyes got wide with excitement.

"Uh, what? Where's Squall?"

"He went on vacation with Rinoa."

"Haha, what a guy. And what a time to take a vacation, I tell ya. Well, when did he leave?"

"About 30 minutes ago."

"Okay, well, radio the situation to Squall. This is important, so he should know to be prepared in case anything happens." Quistis nodded. She picked up the phone and radioed in to the Ragnarok.

Squall looked down at the navigation map. Only ten more minutes to Esthar. Then they could hopefully get some answers. He looked back up. Suddenly, both of them were startled when the radio chimed in.

"Squall, come in. This is Quistis. Do you copy?"

Squall looked over at Rinoa, grinned, and turned the radio off.

"No more duties for me today."

Rinoa giggled. "Commander, what if the Garden was in grave danger?"

"We just left thirty minutes ago. And there was nothing around Balamb that we saw from the Ragnarok that poses any danger."

This time it was his logic that was too good.

"Well?" Zell asked. Quistis looked up.

"Um…the radio went offline." She started to get nervous. Zell walked over and looked at the GPS for the Ragnarok.

"Where exactly are they going on vacation, Quistis?" He eyed the navigation system closely.

"Fisherman's Horizon. Why?"

Zell looked over to her, a grim look on his face.

"Because the Ragnarok is headed to Esthar."

Chills went down both of their spines.

"I…I don't understand. Esthar is probably the last place Squall would want to go since Laguna is there."

"Maybe he doesn't. Maybe someone else does."

"You mean…"

"Someone may have hijacked the Ragnarok!"

"How is that possible, Zell? They're in the air! Unless someone sneaked on the ship in advance and ambushed them, but only we know the code for the Boarding Ramp and the Ragnarok!"

"Well, can you think of any other explanation?" Zell and Quistis were clearly starting to panic. The realization of the photographs, and the unexplained radio cut and direction change for the Ragnarok was too much of a coincidence in one day.

"No. Zell, you're Commander. What are your orders?" Quistis asked, hurriedly.

"Get the Garden mobile, immediately. We're moving out."

'Dammit. The day I get to be Commander, crap already goes wrong.'


	6. The Newest Experiment

_**The Newest Experiment**_

The young couple entered Odine's Laboratory in Esthar City. Granted, they had to fight quite a few monsters along the way thanks to the Lunar Cry, but, they were far too easy for the Legendary Seed and the Sorceress. The guards moved aside without question, instantly recognizing them. As soon as they were on the second floor, Odine ran over to them, smiling.

"Ah, it iz you!"

Squall held a steady sour frown to purposely avoid being friendly.

"Congratulations on ze success of ze defeat of Ultimecia! It proves I am genius after all!" he said, smiling with shameful pride.

Rinoa, always polite, replied, "Yes, thank you Odine!"

"So why are you back?"

"Well, Doctor," Rinoa began, "I was wondering if you knew of a way to suppress my sorceress powers. I don't want to be a sorceress anymore." Odine stared at her.

"You vas vondering? You do not need to vonder! Odine always knows!" he bragged, yet again. Despite his lack of humility, Rinoa was relieved to hear this. Maybe there was a way for her wish to come true after all.

"So, how can you do it?" Squall interjected.

"It iz simple. First, however, I vill need to run some tests on ze subject." Squall's blood began to boil.

"Look here, Odine. You will never, and I mean EVER, refer to her as a 'subject'. Do you understand me? She is a human being, and her name is Rinoa. Second, what kind of tests? You should be warned in advance that if anything, and I mean ANYTHING, happens to her, I will kill you without hesitation." Odine began to look uncomfortable.

"No worries, yes? Ze tests are routine tests. Blood tests, heart monitoring, basically a physical. Iz okay?"

"Yes, those are fine," Rinoa answered.

"Now, ze tests vill take some time due to ze sub…eh, Rinoa being a sorceress. Probably a day or so. Zat is okay?"

"Yes," Rinoa replied again.

"In ze meantime, you," the Doctor pointed at Squall.

"You vant to test my new experiment?" he began to get giddy. Even a moron could tell he wanted them to be interested in his work.

"Hey guys!" came a voice behind them. The three turned around to see another three approaching. Namely, the President of Esthar, and his two most trusted assistants.

'Great. I wanted to avoid this,' Squall thought. Laguna walked up and simultaneously hugged both Squall and Rinoa, though only one of the two hugged back.

"So I heard you wanting them to try out your new experiment, Odine?" Laguna inquired.

"Yes."

"It's actually really cool, guys!" the President claimed.

"Well, that was informative. Can someone actually tell me what it is?" Squall sarcastically remarked.

"I isolated certain nucleotide sequences in the DNA of numerous monsters across ze planet, and made a machine zat replicates zem, and controls ze brain waves." Both Squall and Rinoa looked confused. Laguna chuckled and scratched his head.

"Basically, Odine made a machine that can spawn monsters, while keeping them under control, of course. This has proved useful recently, since we use his monsters to fight the other monsters in the city."

"That…is actually kind of cool. But what does that have to do with me?" Squall asked.

"He made a challenge course. You see that room over there?" Kiros pointed to the large room in the lab that was surrounded by a large thick window. Squall recognized it from the dream he had of Laguna. It was where Ellone was kept. "Basically, you go in there, and you fight ten rounds of progressively harder monsters. It's a good challenge to evaluate your skills."

Odine then spoke up, laughing. "Yes, ze president here tried it." Laguna blushed embarrassingly. This sparked Squall's interest immediately.

"And how'd he do?"

"He failed at level six," Kiros answered.

'I'm not sure whether that's impressive due to monsters getting harder, or just plain weakness. I guess this is my chance to see how I stack up.'

"I'll do it," he said. Odine beamed.

"This should be good," Kiros replied. Ward nodded in agreement.

"I bet he completes the challenge in no time!" Laguna tried to warm up to his son.

"Good. I vill set up ze tests on ze sub…Rinoa, and while zey are running, I vill set you up viz ze monsters. Come."

The others followed Odine to a small room that looked like an advanced clinic. Except unlike a normal clinic, there weren't medicines. Just things that could be used for testing. Typical scientist.

At Odine's signal, Rinoa sat down in a chair. He began hooking up EKG's, IV's, and Hyne knows what else. After about 15 minutes, nearly every part of Rinoa was hooked up to something.

"Does it hurt?" Squall caringly asked.

"Nah," Rinoa shook her head.

"Ze tests should take about day, az I said before. You vill get bored, but do not leave ze chair. Take zis pill." The doctor extended his hand and in it was a small white pill.

"What the hell is that?" the overprotective boyfriend interrogated.

"Zis vill prevent her from getting hungry or needing to go to ze bathroom for a day. It vill have no negative effects. Ze testing vill be incomplete if she leaves, so it iz critical she stays here." Rinoa nodded and did as instructed. Squall still felt uncomfortable and nervous, but at this point, it was Rinoa's decision. Odine then turned around to face Squall. "Now then, are you ready?"

The commander glanced over at Rinoa. "Are you going to be okay here?" She nodded. "Okay then. Let's go." The five approached a large door. Squall took out his Lionheart and made sure his magic and GF's were junctioned properly. Odine entered a code on the door, and it opened.

"Ve vill watch you and monitor your vitals from ze main room above." With that, Odine and the others left and took the hovering lift up to the second floor. Squall proceeded into the room and looked around. He spotted a small machine. Most likely the monster spawning device. He prepared his battle ready stance. He found the challenge to actually be exhilarating. The most training he'd gotten done lately was the training center, which really wasn't much of a challenge anymore. He waited in anticipation for the challenge to start.

Above, the others were making bets about how far Squall would go.

"He'll make it all the way! After all, he is MY son!" Laguna claimed.

"Well…then that means he'll only make it to level six," Kiros broke his confidence. Ward warmly smiled.

"Hey! Well…Odine, what are your predictions?" Odine was pushing buttons on the control panel.

"He vill make it to Level 10. But he vill not beat Level 10."

"Dang! Must be a hard monster!"

"Okay, ve vill begin now."

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 1: INITIATED" called a computerized voice into the room where Squall was standing.

'Here we go!'

Suddenly, a Wendigo appeared. 'Tch. Piece of cake.'

The Wendigo barreled towards him, looking for a Shoot attack, but Squall evaded the attack with ease, vaulting into the air. On his descent, he placed as much force into his gunblade as possible, cutting the Wendigo in half.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 1: COMPLETED"

Squall reasoned that Level 1 was a test of where he stood, since it was neither too hard nor too easy an opponent for most. He figured that the amount of time he took to defeat the creature, as well as the amount of damage he himself sustained, would determine the difficulty of the next challenge. He stood up straight, waiting for the next creature to appear.

"Whoa!" Laguna chanted. "Flawless victory!"

"Nice," Kiros agreed.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 2: INITIATED"

'Let's do this!'

The creature that stood before him was one he had faced so many times before, it had become child's play: a T-Rexaur. Luckily, he still had the elemental junction from when he was in the Training Center, which meant the advantage was his from the get-go.

The mammoth monster swirled around, looking to hit the SeeD with its tail. Squall ducked, and grabbed onto the tail. When the monster was back in its starting position, it was perplexed, as his opponent was gone! He never sensed his opponent climb onto his tail, run across his back, and seconds later, decapitate him with one blow.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 2: COMPLETED"

"Damn! Smart fighter!" Laguna wailed again.

"Impressive, yet again," Kiros said. Ward nodded.

"Yes it iz. Laguna had lost nearly 1000 HP by the end of Level 2," Odine compared. Laguna blushed and scratched his head.

Squall stood in a battle ready position, waiting for the next creature to appear. He reasoned that due to his performance at Level 2, the next creature would be extremely difficult.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 3: INITIATED"

Suddenly, an Elnoyle appeared. Squall sighed. Once again, this was just too easy.

The Elnoyle sped towards Squall, hoping to impale him with its sharp tail. Squall leaped up high, evading the attack, and brought it down, cutting off one of the Elnoyle's wings. The creature, though wounded, wanted to continue. It tried using a wind attack, but the young warrior's junctions were so perfect, it had absolutely no effect on him. He charged up a magical spell, and unleashed a flare on the creature, blowing it to pieces.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 3: COMPLETED"

The four spectators above were awestruck. This kid was incredible! He hadn't received any damage whatsoever!

"It vill get much harder now," the Doctor said ominously.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 4: INITIATED"

Squall's hope for a greater challenge came this time, in the form of a Ruby Dragon. Squall decided to take the initiative and attack before it did. When Squall landed a blow, however, it did very little damage.

"Darn! Forgot physical attacks don't work well." By this time, the Ruby Dragon capitalized and used a meteor spell. For the first time since beginning the challenge, Squall suffered some damage, though very little due to good stats and junctioning. Squall countered with an Ultima spell, but this too didn't do as much damage as he'd like. The Ruby Dragon utilized Breath, but Squall evaded. This time he decided to use Meltdown to weaken the Ruby Dragon's defenses, something he felt he should have known to do earlier.

The Ruby Dragon retaliated by swinging its tail around low, sweeping Squall of his feet. Then the monster stormed towards Squall, but he quickly got up and swung his Lionheart multiple times very rapidly, the result of which were beams that sliced right through the Ruby Dragon.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 4: COMPLETED"

"Oh man, that one didn't go as smooth," commented the previously confident Laguna.

"Still better than we would've done, honestly," contributed Kiros. "And that last move, what was that? I've never seen such a technique before! Very impressive, to say the least."

Squall took advantage of the time between Levels to quickly heal the damage he sustained. Then he got back to his battle ready position.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 5: INITIATED"

The next creature to come face to face, or rather, knee to face, with the Legendary SeeD was a huge Iron Giant. Recalling that Iron Giant's defenses were tough like Ruby Dragons', he quickly used a meltdown on the creature. The Iron Giant turned his massive sword horizontally, and swung it, hoping to chop his opponent in half. Reflexively, Squall jumped up and landed on the sword as it moved, then leaped from that towards the Giant, dishing out a frenzy of slashes. After six or so of the slashes, the Giant fell, just like the previous challenges.

"Phew, he made quick work of that! We should just have Squall eliminate the monsters in Esthar!"

"Yes, it iz good idea," Odine commented, clearly thinking of something.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 6: INITIATED"

Appearing before him was a Malboro. He used to be frightened by them, due to its status changing effects. But like the true warrior he was, he learns from mistakes, and makes his weaknesses his strengths. The Malboro started out battle as typically as ever: Bad Breath.

Too bad Squall's defenses were too good. No effect whatsoever. Squall ran up and gave the creature a thorough Rough Divide, slicing it dead in half.

"CHALLENGE 6: COMPLETED"

Squall grinned. He had made it further than his father.

"Sweet!" Laguna continued cheering.

"Now I am really impressed! It didn't do any damage to him at all! He's better than you, Laguna!" Kiros exclaimed.

"Hey hey hey! It's not my fault! I don't have weird magic to junction to make my status stats invincible!"

"Actually, that would be your fault…" his partner commented. Ward nodded.

"Ehhhh, whatever! I wonder what's after the Malboro?"

"Zis vill be a bit different." The trio looked at him curiously. "Ze previous challenges tested his strength, magic, and junctions. Zis vill just test his speed. Then ze fun really begins!"

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 7: INITIATED"

Suddenly, the last thing he'd expect for Level 7 appeared before him: 50 Cactuars.

'Great. This'll be fun,' he sarcastically told himself. He decided to use the Blade Beams he used against the Ruby Dragon. Dishing out beam after beam as quickly as he could for around 45 seconds, he looked back to see that he hadn't hit a single Cactuar.

"Dammit!" While he was contemplating what to do next, every Cactuar in the room prepared for 1,000 Needles. This wouldn't be good. As the little plant creatures spat out sharp objects at him, he tried his best to dodge. Of course, dodging thousands of small things was no easy task. After the initial attack, he had sustained around 3,000 damage. Pretty good considering this meant he dodged around 47,000 needles, and thus, defeat.

He decided to use some Ultimas. Casting them as quickly as he could around the room, he was able to blast a grand total of nine Cactuars into another dimension. Still 41 to go. Seeing that the magic was not as effective as he'd like, he decided to use their own weapon against them. He charged up, and prepared to summon Jumbo Cactuar. However, the charge took more than a few seconds, and the cactuars unleashed another fury of needles, this time inflicting around 4,000 damage since Squall was mostly staying still. Jumbo Cactuar finally arrived, and wreaked some havoc on its young apprentices with 10,000 needles. This wiped out another 30 of them. Still 11 left to go.

Since Squall had sustained quite a bit of damage, he was now able to use the Fated Circle without much trouble. Thrusting his gunblade as fast as he could, the entire room filled with flames and cactus pieces.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 7: COMPLETED"

Once again, Squall took advantage of this time to restore his health back to normal.

"Man, that one was a doozy."

"It was smart to use their own tactic against them, though. Very competent fighter." Both Ward and Odine nodded in concurrence.

'Oh man,' Squall thought to himself, 'that was pretty challenging. I thought the monsters continually get stronger physically, but I guess different levels test different strengths. Wonder what could be next?'

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 8: INITIATED"

A roar filled the room, and Squall nearly dropped his gunblade in shock. Standing before him was the legendary Ultima Weapon.

'DAMN!'

Squall went to use a Holy War, but realized he didn't have any left.

"DAMMIT!" he yelled out loud. The monster capitalized and attacked Squall with his sword, causing around 1,500 damage.

Squall charged up and unleashed a series of blows of his own, but the monster still stood strong. He had forgotten to use Meltdown, once again, which resulted in his attacks being largely ineffective.

Meanwhile, Ultima Weapon charged up its Light Pillar. Exhausted from his last charge, Squall was slow to react, and got caught in the beam. This reduced his HP by another 4000. Learning from his past mistake, he rapidly used a Meltdown spell and leaped into the air, using the Blade Beams he used before. These were a bit more effective, but not enough. Ultima Weapon utilized an Ultima, causing a couple hundred more damage to Squall. Realizing he needed to do something, Squall mustered up the strength for a massive Renzokuken.

Running up to the large beast, Squall let out a war cry as he unloaded a series of hard blows to the monster. Seeing that this wasn't going to finish him, he decided to follow through with his best move: The Lionheart. He was reluctant to use it, because it made him very tired, but he had no other choice.

"AAAAHHHHH!" he screamed as he knocked the monster into the air. Slice after slice landed on the beast, and took everything out of Squall as well. The Lionheart was performed perfectly, and when it was all said and done, the creature exploded, signaling the end of Level 8.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 8: COMPLETED"

"Damn," he huffed to himself, bent over trying to gain his breath. "How could there possibly still be two levels left?" He then casted a few Curagas to replenish the damage he suffered, though he was still out of breath from the previous two levels.

"Yep, I definitely would've lost that match," his father said.

"We all would have. Squall is an extraordinary fighter. I have never seen anyone with his caliber of skill."

"Yo, Odine!" The minute doctor turned around to face the president. "What the heck could you possibly have left?" The doctor smirked strangely.

"You vill see."

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 9: INITIATED"

He took his battle ready stance, having finally regained his breath and strength. As the monster materialized, the one monster he hoped he would not have to fight appeared: Omega Weapon. Of all the times to not have a Holy War or a Hero, this was by far the worst.

Having learned from his previous few matches, he took the initiative by casting Meltdown, weakening the monster's defenses. The monster tried to use Mendigo Flames, but Squall dodged them using his agility. He decided to start this fight out right. "RENZOKUKEN!" he hollered as loudly as he could. With all his might, he gave a series of eight hard slashes to his opponent. When it concluded, he thought it would be best not to give the monster any time to formulate an attack. "LIONHEART!" Again, he knocked the monster into the air and executed a perfect Lionheart, causing the beast tremendous pain. Both fighters landed on their feet, but Squall was so completely exhausted from the maneuver that he couldn't dodge the next attack: an upgraded version of Light Pillar. The massive attack took a whopping 5,000 HP away from him. The monster then looked for a quick victory, following it up with an L5 Death. Luckily, Squall's stats were incredible, so it didn't affect him.

The others were watching intently, mouths open, and not even blinking. This was a fight for the ages. Both Kiros and Ward doubted Squall's ability to be able to win this fight. Laguna was also skeptical, but he never allowed himself to be pessimistic. Odine was beside himself with excitement, jumping up and down.

Squall knew he had to do something soon. He needed to dish out another Lionheart, but he was too fatigued from already doing it twice. It would take some time to summon up the strength to do it again. Instead, he whipped out another Renzokuken, and followed it up with a Rough Divide. Weapon casted an Ultima, dealing Squall around 600 damage. To bide some time for the Lionheart, he decided Eden would be good to use. The only problem was he needed some time to charge up the summon.

Thinking on his feet, he mocked the Weapon into charging towards him. When the beast was a few meters away, Squall casted Flare near to the face of Weapon, and leaped as far as he could behind him. Blinded by the magic attack, Weapon became momentarily disoriented. When the beast regained his composure and looked back, the next thing he knew he was at the mercy of the most powerful GF of all time. His opponent took advantage of this time to gain some strength for another Lionheart.

When the summon was over, Weapon was clearly enraged, and charged towards the human. But the human was ready. Dodging the attack from Weapon, he unleashed another Renzokuken, and prepared for the Lionheart. Knocking the beast into the air and once again perfectly executing the maneuver, he was confident this was going to be it. Finally, the last strike came, and the beast came crashing to the ground. Squall landed on his feet, and looked towards Weapon. To his dismay, the monster was still standing. Despite his clear lethargy, our hero became enraged. This was a true limit break in the making if there ever was one.

"AHHHHH! TORNADO BEAM!" he roared. Then, he sprung into the air, and used his angular momentum to spin himself rapidly like a tornado, swinging his gunblade with him. The result of this was a series of swift beams, that was basically a combination of the Fated Circle with his Blade Beams. Each beam was dealing a whopping 9,999 damage, and when it was over, he had produced over 30 beams from the attack. Weapon had been completely defenseless to it, and when Squall landed back on the ground, his new technique had proven effective. Omega disintegrated in a dazzling display of lights. This was truly the most epic ending to a fight that any of the spectators had ever seen, or ever hoped to see.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 9: COMPLETE"

The champion collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. He had spent the last two weeks devising that new technique, but had never used it before. Casting a few Curagas, he was quickly again at full health, but completely burned out physically and mentally.

'That was only Level 9?'

"YEAH! WAY TO GO! THAT RIGHT THERE IS MY SON! HE JUST BEAT THE STRONGEST CREATURE IN HISTORY!"

"That's right. I guess that makes Squall the best fighter in history," Kiros speculated.

"Indeed, his skill iz exceptional. You are forgetting that vas Level 9."

"Oh yeah," Laguna stopped laughing, looking baffled. "Then what the heck could possibly be Level 10?"

* * *

><p>An alert sounded within Garden, causing instant chaos to erupt. Zell came over the intercom.<p>

"Alright, this is a Red Alert. I want everyone to prepare for the Garden to be mobilized. I repeat, this is a Red Alert. I want everyone to prepare for the Garden to be mobilized. A fight may soon ensue, so please be on guard, and ready for battle at any time. Irvine, Selphie, Xu, and Nida, please report to the bridge immediately!" The intercom then went off.

Quistis decided to give the residents of Garden around five minutes to prepare for the mobilization before initiating it.

"Hey, you actually make a good Commander, Zell!" The fighter rubbed his head, thankful for the compliment. Moments later, the four requested members were at the bridge.

"Um, what the HELL is going on?" Irvine was clearly panicking. His hair was ruffled. As was Selphie's. One could only imagine what Zell's announcement interrupted.

"Look, we have an emergency. We have reason to believe Squall and Rinoa are in grave danger and that they've been taken hostage aboard the Ragnarok," explained Quistis.

"WHAT?" was everyone's response.

"And what reason is this?" Xu asked, skeptically.

"Squall and Rinoa were supposed to go to FH on vacation, via the Ragnarok. When we tried to radio them, the radio went offline, and then, when we looked at the GPS, it showed that the Ragnarok was heading to Esthar."

"Okay, but that could mean anything," Sephie said, naively. Zell threw a manila folder at her. She caught it and opened it up, looking at the picture inside. Irvine and Xu glanced over as well.

"Recognize it?"

Everyone was speechless.

"Okay, so what do we do? Where are we going?" Irvine asked.

"Before the GPS connection with the Ragnarok went off, it was heading to Esthar. So, so are we."

"But there's no way for the Garden to get to Esthar!" Selphie argued.

"Then we get as close as possible! It beats sitting here!" Quistis replied. She looked at her watch. Five minutes were up. "Alright everyone, prepare for mobilization." She input her code into the control panel on the bridge, and Nida entered the necessary commands. A few moments later, the Garden was once again hovering over the land.

* * *

><p>"Yo guys, look at that!" Raijin exclaimed, as he looked up. Him, Fujin, and Seifer were in Balamb doing some fishing down by the boats, when a noise broke the silence. The three looked up to see the Garden floating over, heading towards the ocean.<p>

"CONFUSED."

"What does it mean, ya know? Wasn't Garden stationary this morning? Why would they need to leave?"

"OUR INFORMATION."

"Oh, right! Maybe Squall decided to act on our information, ya know?"

Seifer pondered over this.

"I…don't know. I don't think Squall would be stupid enough just to act on rumors alone. He probably doesn't even trust us yet."

"NEW INFORMATION."

"Oh, what? Yeah, maybe Squall investigated after we told him this morning, and he found something else out, ya know?"

"Now THAT is possible. I still don't think he'd start a war, though." Seifer was still deep in thought, trying to make sense of it all. He got a bad feeling in his gut. If Garden left, he'd be in the dark about what in the world was going on.

"ACTION."

"Yeah, Seifer. What are we gonna do?"

Seifer thought for a few more seconds. "Follow me."

The trio went onto one of the docks, where a fisherman was preparing his boat. Raijin and Fujin watched as Seifer took out his Hyperion, and held it up to the fisherman's throat.

"You won't mind if we confiscate this boat for official business, would you?" he smirked evilly. The fisherman shook his head in extreme fear, and Seifer dropped his blade, allowing the man to run back into town.

"Fujin, you know how to steer boats, right?"

"AFFIRMATIVE."

"Good, get on the wheel, then. Let's go."

"DESTINATION?"

Seifer looked out towards the horizon. If Squall was acting on their information, there's only one place he'd need to go.

"Deling City," Seifer responded.


	7. Level 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.

Author's Note: My deepest apologies for taking so long. I have been helping organize a statewide math competition while trying to keep up with my college work. After this chapter, I will not be able to update until the first week or so of May due to attending the competition next weekend, followed by final exams.

Anon- Yes, in FF8, Caraway was a general. In my story, following the events of FF8, he became president.

_**Level 10**_

It had been a good five minutes or so since Level 9 of the challenge was completed, and what a match it was! After Legendary SeeD vs. Legendary Monster, what could possibly be harder than that? That was exactly what was on the minds of everyone watching, as well. Squall waited in agonizing anticipation, completely fatigued from his battles thus far.

"Odine, I'm rather confused. What could be more of a challenge than Omega?" the simple-minded president inquired. Odine did not turn around to directly address him, and simply continued entering commands on the control panel. Whatever the next challenge was, it was taking some time for Odine to manifest, which is a testament as to how impossible it must be.

"You vill see," was the cryptic answer he provided.

Rinoa was listening from a few rooms down. The sound of cheering from a few battles before gave her a sense of pride, knowing Squall had overcome everything thrown at him. Though, as far as she could count, there had only been nine battles, and nothing else was happening. What was going on? Maybe…maybe Squall got hurt in his last fight? A bad feeling pitted into her stomach, and she was tempted to get up to go check on him. But, she remembered what Odine had said, and she knew Laguna would make sure Squall is okay, so she settled back down.

The usually cool Squall was sweating buckets. The last few fights really wore him down, physically and mentally, and he really didn't know what to expect next. Nothing he'd ever faced was harder than Omega. Not even Ultimecia herself.

Laguna looked over and saw Odine grinning widely as if he were a comedian about to tell a joke. But what happened next was no joke.

"Okay. Here ve go." Everyone's eyes turned intensely to the room.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 10: INITIATED"

Suddenly, before Squall's very eyes appeared…another Squall!

* * *

><p>"Nearing Esthar's coast," Nida reported. "We should be there in around twenty to thirty minutes." Quistis nodded in agreement. Zell, Selphie, and Irvine were also aboard the bridge, discussing various conspiracy theories about what was going on.<p>

"Okay, so we are all in agreement right? That picture is Galbadia Garden?" Zell asked. The others all nodded.

"I mean, I guess we were careless. We never posed the question of what happened to it after our last battle," Quistis reasoned. "It wasn't destroyed, after all, so it still must have been around somewhere."

"Yeah, but who is controlling it?" Selphie naively asked.

"Um, Sephie…it's GALBADIA Garden," her cowboy boyfriend face-palmed.

"I know that! But there's no evil Sorceress anymore! And Seifer, I'm pretty sure Galbadia ousted him as soon as Ultimecia was defeated. So then who is controlling that thing, and why?"

"My guess would be a third party." The entire crew turned towards Quistis in confusion.

"Why?"

"There's no use for Galbadia to be using it. They kicked out all of their SeeD when Seifer and Edea went into power. And their military went into shambles. Garden and Esthar took care of that. Finally, it doesn't make sense for Galbadia to try to disrupt the peace right now. The entire world is against them after what happened, and they don't have enough military power to do anything big. So I really doubt Galbadia is controlling it. And we know that neither SeeD nor Esthar is controlling it. That leaves some third party that we don't know of."

"Okaaaay. But there are a few illogical points with that," the sharpshooter intervened. "If it isn't Galbadia, then who else would know how to steer that thing? Second, of what purpose would it serve to a third party? They would have had to make all the necessary repairs to it after the Battle, which also requires quite a bit of manpower. I'm not sure there is a third party that fits the bill."

"That's what I'm still trying to figure out. And another thing is, where in the world did it go after the Battle? I mean, we flew all over the world in Ragnarok, and we never saw it. Now, it just shows up. It had to have been somewhere. But as for the third party, my guess is it's someone who wants to try to make a name for themselves, or who wants to try their hand at conquest."

"To be truthful, I wondered that after the Battle, but after Lunatic Pandora surfaced, I figured that they just sunk the Garden since they didn't need it anymore," Zell contributed.

"Actually, Quistis, on second thought, I think you might be right." This time the crew looked at Irvine. "I heard that the new president of Galbadia is Caraway. He's a pretty cool guy, right? I mean, he clearly fights oppression since he assisted us with assassination attempt. And he's Rinoa's dad. He wouldn't try anything stupid. So yeah, I doubt Galbadia is the one controlling it."

The others considered this for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"So, how're the cadets doing, Xu?" Selphie changed the subject.

"Given Zell's announcement, Garden went into instant chaos. But things have settled down. I think they're still really nervous, though."

"Quistis, which way do we want to try to enter?" Nida asked. Quistis looked out the window to decide which would probably be the easiest way to enter Esthar.

"We'll go around the sea surrounding Tear's Point, and try to enter from the East side, south of the mountain range."

"Understood."

"Uh, Quisty, wasn't there a big fence there before?" Zell questioned.

"Yeah, but we have no other choice. We can easily blow a hole in that big thing if needed. Esthar will understand since we're trying to help them anyways."

"That's yet another thing," Irvine started. "Given that this is a third party, what the hell do they want in Esthar? And surely, they would've made it there by now. So Esthar would know that the Ragnarok is there. Which means they'd know if a danger was present or not."

"That's a really good point. Maybe we should call Laguna," the young headmaster suggested.

"Yeah." Zell picked up the dial of the phone located on the bridge, and dialed Laguna's personal number, given to them after the events of Ultimecia, if they should ever need anything. The group waited in anticipation, looking at Zell. A few moments went by, and nothing happened. "He's…not answering. Strange."

"Maybe Sir Laguna has been taken hostage, too! Maybe he expected Squall to be on the Ragnarok and went to see him, but the people holding Squall captive took him captive, too!"

Quistis got wide-eyed at the realization. "Damn! That is actually a brilliant plan! There has been widespread speculation among the general public that Squall is Laguna's son. That means that if someone wanted to get to Laguna, the best bait would be Squall! And it's also common knowledge Squall uses the Ragnarok!" The entire party above the bridge were now getting really anxious. They didn't know what the heck to expect next. Whoever devised all of this was good. Really good.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Seifer." Seifer was standing near to the edge of the boat, looking towards the horizon in deep contemplation. He turned around to face his partner.<p>

"Yeah?"

"Just wondering. Deling City isn't a port town. How're we gonna get to it by boat?"

"Good point. I think the fastest option would be to land in Dollet, since we're nearly halfway there now. Then we walk to the train station, catch a train to Timber, and then catch a train to Deling." Raijin didn't like the sound of that much work, but it beat getting off at East Academy and walking. "So we should be there sometime tomorrow."

"Alright." He squatted down near to the edge of the boat and looked at the water. "Wonder what's going on, ya know?"

"No clue. But regardless, if anything with Galbadia does go down, it's going to happen in Deling City. So, we'd be most useful there." Raijin nodded in compliance. Fujin was listening from her post as captain, but didn't say anything.

"What if we're too late, ya know? Garden is probably already there by now." Seifer went silent for a moment. He knew this was true. But what other choice did he have? Staying in Balamb wouldn't have helped.

"Better late than never, right?"

* * *

><p>"Okay, I'm confused," Laguna began. He turned towards Odine. "What the heck did you do?"<p>

Odine demonstrated a proud grin as be began explaining. "I vas analyzing his vitals during ze challenge course. Ze computers were able to replicate his stats and junctioning, as vell as his technique. Hence, ve vill now see a Squall versus Squall match."

"That's immoral! They're both humans!" Kiros argued. Ward nodded in concurrence.

"Ze other Squall is not real, remember. All of ze monsters are computer generated. At any moment I can shut off ze system and ze 'monsters' vill die. Should ze computer generated Squall become too much for Squall to handle, I vill shut off ze system. There iz no need to worry."

"Okay. But one more question! Why Squall versus Squall, Odine?"

"Clearly, Squall is a great warrior. There iz no single monster zat can defeat him, as he haz proved. But, can he conquer himself? Zat vill be ze question for zis match." And that was the end of the argument. It was convincing enough for the trio. They all turned back and watched on anxiously for the battle to officially began.

Squall looked at his opponent in complete disbelief. How could he beat himself? They were the same! And even if he could get an advantage, would he have it in himself to kill…himself? This was by far the last thing he was expecting. No amount of SeeD training, and no experiences with sorceresses could have prepared him for this. Maybe this was a test of wit instead of strength and speed.

The two initiated the battle by staring each other down in classical stance, gunblades drawn and on guard.

'Better to try something than stand around all day doing nothing!' Squall lunged at his image, and as if on cue, the Squall clone did the same. Both dodged the attack, and the battle was at a standstill again. Getting a bit nervous, he leaped into the air and attempted a blade beam, but the clone dodged easily. When Squall landed, the clone attempted a Rough Divide, but to no avail. Then came another pause that was constituted of staring and contemplating.

Out of nowhere, both Squalls charged head first towards each other, dishing out blade moves after blade move. At this point, it was a classic swordfight.

Three out of the four spectators were nearly jumping out of their skin. The other one really was. Odine was going berserk!  
>"Good! Good! He iz lasting even more zan I expected!" The others cheered him on, unaware he couldn't hear their advice.<p>

"Cmon! Give him a left! No no, my left! Look out!" Laguna cried.

Rinoa was listening intently, unsure of what was going on. The four watching were going crazy! Something must be going on. Some amazing battle. Now she was tempted again to get up and check. It was so unfair that those four could be supporting her boyfriend, and here she was, only doing what was good for her! How selfish was she being! At this realization, she began to get up, but her conscience again told her not to.

'No, Squall wouldn't want me to get up. He'll be okay.' With a sigh, she let it go, and went back to listening anxiously.

After a few minutes of the blade duel, the battle was, yet again, at a standstill. Squall began thinking.

'Hm. So he inherited my mindset as well. That means whatever I think, he's probably thinking as well. I need to do something I wouldn't normally do. But…what?' He thought for a minute that he has almost always relied upon his strength and blade, and rarely used magic. Maybe that would be a good idea.

"ULTIMA!" But, the sound wasn't coming from his mouth. It was coming from his opponent's mouth! Without warning, a green wave engulfed him, causing him a bit of damage, and breaking him from his concentration. Angered that the clone had been one step ahead of him, he rushed towards the Squall clone, trying his best to hit him with his gunblade. However, the Squall clone anticipated this, and once Squall missed one of his attacks, the clone utilized a meteor spell, pummeling his original.

The battle went again to a stand-off. Squall was getting more nervous this time around. By now, he had lost a good 2,000 HP while dealing no damage whatsoever to his clone. The clone sensed his opponent's fear, and swiftly executed a blade beam attack. Sensing some movement but not realizing entirely what it was, he barely dodged, the beam cutting off a few strands of hair.

'Maybe this is the advantage I need! He's me, but we're in different situations! He doesn't know how I'd react right now.' Squall jumped backwards a few feet, and stood up straight, his gunblade dropping a tad. The clone looked on bewildered. He didn't know why his original would drop his blade when he so heavily relied on it.

"QUETZALCOATL!" The clone's mental defenses shattered for a moment, feeling unprepared for having not anticipated this. Without warning, lightning bolts filled up the room, and from the opened heavens entered a massive green bird, ready to strike. However, something unprecedented occurred. The GF froze, as if confused. Quetzalcoatl did not know what to do. Why had he been summoned to attack his companion? Why were there two Squalls in the room? Unsure of what to do, the bird flew back up into the heavens and disappeared.

"What the hell?" Squall roared. He had a chance to inflict some damage, but the chance was blown.

The clone, seeing an opening, struck again, bolting towards Squall with the intent on performing a Rough Divide. Barely evading, Squall took a defensive position to try to think of what to do next. Maybe his special attack would work? It was worth a shot!  
>Squall vaulted into the air and began spinning rapidly. "TORNADO BEAM!"<br>However, since the clone was concocted after the computer analyzed the technique, the clone was one again one step ahead. As swift blue beams frenzied from the spinning Squall, the clone jumped around to dodge them. When it was said and done, our hero landed back to the floor in disbelief. He was now utterly and completely exhausted. Further, he had done absolutely no damage to this clone whatsoever.

Maybe it was impossible? Maybe he should just give up? After all, the clone also had the advantage that this was his first fight. He had already fought nine battles, and was nearing the edge of unconscious fatigue. He had tried to do what he didn't normally do so that the clone wouldn't expect it, and that didn't work. Wait…maybe that was it! Despite the fact that he didn't NORMALLY use magic and GF's, he had still used them on occasion, and hence, the clone must have been ready to dodge. But if he tried something completely new, something he would not expect himself to do, maybe, just maybe, he'd have a chance! And the perfect idea came to his mind. 'Hate to say this, but if it works, thank you Seifer.'

"Hey Puberty Boy!" The clone dropped his gunblade for a moment, unbelieving of what he had just heard. "Yeah, you! You think you're so bad since you've been tearing me up, huh? But you aren't bad unless you finish off your opponent, something I bet you can't do. Wanna know why?" The clone stared, his blood starting to boil. Still, he didn't speak. "Because you're a chicken wimp!" The Squall extended his hand, and made the "come on" gesture with his hands. Angered, the clone whipped forward in a fury, his fighting style completely sloppy. This was exactly the reaction Squall wanted. As the clone brought down the gunblade to Squall, a firaga spell was quickly casted, disorienting the clone. Then Squall sidestepped, and, without hesitation, ran the Lionheart straight through the body of the clone, blood pouring out.

"Oh my Hyne!" Laguna wailed. He was not expecting such a gory ending. Kiros and Ward turned away as well. Odine kept staring in disbelief.

"CHALLENGE LEVEL 10: COMPLETED"

"I do not believe eet! He did eet! He conquered himself! Odine vas wrong!" he jumped up and down.

Squall began to walk towards the door, but, out of exhaustion, collapsed into unconsciousness.

"I'll go bring him up for rest," Laguna began. But Ward cut him off and shook his head, then began walking. Laguna understood- Ward would carry Squall for him since he was stronger than Laguna.

"Well, Odine," the president smirked. "Thought you said he couldn't complete Level 10?"

"Eet is very perplexing. Zis vas not expected at all." The doctor continued pushing buttons on the control panel.

A few moments later, Ward came up with Squall. "Follow me," Odine offered. He led them to a room right next to Rinoa's which had a bed. "All he needs iz rest. Lay him down here." Ward did as instructed, and the four returned to the main lab room. However, this time, there were two Esthar soldiers present, as well as the Presidential Aide.

"Um, what's going on guys?" Laguna asked, scratching his head. The Aide stepped forward holding a picture.

"Bad news. You have to take a look at this." The president took the picture, clearly one taken from satellite, but was confused.

"What is this?"

"The blue object nearing the coast is Balamb Garden. The red object, right behind it, is Galbadia Garden."

"Crap!"


	8. Battle of the Gardens

A/N: I apologize for waiting soooo long to update. I have been busy with college stuff, and also had a slight case of writer's block. Hopefully, the rest of the story goes smoothly.  
>Disclaimer: I do not own FF8.<p>

_**Battle of the Gardens**_

"Quistis, we're less than five minutes to the shore. That big fence isn't there anymore, luckily," Nida informed. He seemed a little nervous about the entire situation. Though he was a SeeD, he didn't have near as much experience as those who fought against Ultimecia. By the end of their journey, those six could have pretty much been in any sort of struggle, and not be stressed. But Nida had spent most of his time being the pilot, or helping Dr. Kadowaki. He wasn't a fighter at heart, and didn't want to be. He dismissed his overwhelming anxiety as simple inexperience.

"Excellent. So we won't have to bust out the explosives after all." The young headmaster looked forward intently, deep in thought. None of the crew were speaking much anymore, feeling that conspiracy theories at this point may not be much help. They'd find out soon enough anyways. Not too long until Esthar. Xu had left the bridge to get some fresh air on the 2F Balcony. She was as nervous as Nida was, especially with all the conspiracy theories.

"Hey, uh, Quistis," Zell broke the silence. "Do you get the feeling that…well, that we're being played or something?"

Quistis did not look at Zell. She remained looking intently and gave her answer, "There's no way of knowing. We'll find out when we get to Esthar." Zell put his head down, disappointed in the answer. A few more moments of silence followed. Then, without warning, that silence was shattered. All of a sudden, a huge BANG was heard, and the Garden jolted to the side.

"THE HELL WAS THAT?" Zell jumped.

"Nida! What's on the radar? Did you hit something?" Quistis interrogated, clearly panicking. The pilot looked at the radar and was quite confused, and also panicking.

"I didn't hit anything! There's nothing there!"

Then there was another loud noise, and the Garden shifted again. Selphie was thrown off her balance, and the others only maintained their standing position by holding on to the rails.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"Quistis! Come in Quistis!" The radio chimed in. It was Xu, reporting from the 2F Balcony.

"Xu! What's going on?"

"Galbadia Garden! They're ramming us from behind!" Xu was out of breath and yelling, clearly stressed out more so than before she went to get some fresh air.

"DAMMIT!" Quistis replied.

"They're not on the radar! What is going on?" Nida contributed, nearly crying.

"I don't know and I don't freakin' care! We've got to prepare our defenses!" Zell said. He was the Commander, and he was taking charge. "Quistis, give me the intercom." Quistis did as instructed. Nida hit the button, and now everything Zell said could be heard by everyone in Garden.

"Attention, all SeeDs and cadets! Attention, all SeeDs and cadets! We are being attacked by Galbadia Garden from behind! I repeat, we are being attacked from Galbadia Garden from behind! I want all Junior Classmen to report to the Cafeteria!" Quistis looked at him questioningly from that last order. "If you are a SeeD, and the last digit of your ID is even, report to the front gate. If it is odd, report to the Quad. If you are a Cadet, and the last digit of your ID is even, report to the 2F Hallway. If it is odd, which the majority of you are, space yourself evenly around the circumference of the first floor. Technicians, prepare the missiles, bombs, and robots. I want this done immediately!" The mic was cut.

"Zell, what the hell?" Irvine spoke up. "Care to explain?"

"Junior classmen can't fight. There's no way for the Galbadian soldiers to get to the Cafeteria without first entering the Garden, so that's the safest place for them. The two main entranceways into the Garden are the Quad and the Front Gate, so we have SeeD protecting them. A lesser number, but still a few, will probably try to enter via either the 2F Balcony or the classroom windows, in which case we have the Cadets ready. If any soldiers make it past any of the SeeDs, we have Cadets interspersed throughout the circumference ready to fight."

"Wow," Quistis complimented. "That was really thought out, and right on the spot." She was very impressed. Maybe Squall and Zell should be co-commanders.

"Okay! But what about us?" Selphie spoke up.

"Selphie, come with me. We're going to the front gate. Quistis and Irvine, go to the Quad."

"Uh, care to explain that reasoning?" Irvine was confused again. Zell was starting to get pissed.

"Soldiers entering via the Quad will most likely be on either motorcycles or flotation devices, which allowed them to get there in the first place. Irvine and Quistis have weapons that can attack from a mid-to-high distance away. Selphie and I both fight close range, so we'd be more able to fight those on foot entering via boat through the Front Gate."

Everyone looked at him in awe. Once again, they were clearly impressed.

"Nida, Xu will probably be coming up here. You two stay here, and report to me via radio. Ram them good!" Everyone saluted one another, and then proceeded to their destinations.

'Man, the one day I get to be commander. The ONE day. Guess it's all in, balls out now,' Zell thought.

* * *

><p>"President, what are your orders?" the two aides asked. Laguna scratched the back of his head. He, without hesitation, gave his answer.<p>

"I want the entire army to move out! Destroy Galbadia Garden!" Everyone in the room looked at him curiously.

"Uh, Laguna," Kiros began. "Most of our soldiers are busy fighting monsters in the city. We wouldn't be able to mobilize them that quickly. And two, we don't even know what's going on. For all we know, they could be meeting on friendly terms. Sending soldiers and attacking could spark an international war."

'Darn, he's always so smart.' "Well uh, hm. I guess we should ask Squall, then."

"He iz unconscious at ze moment," Odine reminded.

"Um. Kiros, what do you suggest?"

"Our army is busy, but our navy isn't. Perhaps it would be a good idea to send them to investigate."

"Good idea!" Laguna exclaimed, hitting his fist in his hand. "Alright, those are my orders." Kiros and Ward facepalmed, and the two aides saluted, and ran off. "Now," he turned back around to face Odine. "Is there any way you could, I don't know, heal Squall so he can wake up?"

"Odine iz not miracle worker! Odine iz scientist! Simple curaga spells only heal hiz HP. He iz exhausted!" the midget scientist proclaimed, angrily. Laguna tickled inside. He always got a kick out of pissing off this strange little man.

"Okay then. We will wait until he wakes up before going anywhere." The three then found seats, and began to wait. Odine continued pushing buttons.

* * *

><p>Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin had made it to Timber and proceeded to the train station. The next train was due in an hour, so they killed time by talking.<p>

"Hey, Seifer. Just wonderin'. Why are we goin' through all this trouble again, ya know?"

"We owe them for what happened before," Seifer answered, looking into the sky.

The answer had not satisfied them. Fujin knew the answer without needing to ask. Seifer still cared for Rinoa. That was it. Whether or not he really buried the hatchet with Squall, he wanted to protect the young sorceress, and make up to her what he did weeks prior. Redemption was his entire goal, even if it meant taking on the world.

* * *

><p>As Zell and Selphie ran towards the front gate, their hearts pounded like earthquakes. Zell was incredibly doubtful. The last time Balamb went up against Galbadia, they almost lost. If it weren't for Squall, they would have. Did he really have what it would take to win this thing? Well, no time to think about it now. A wave of chaos had erupted in Garden. Students and SeeD were running everywhere, attempting to prepare for the colossal battle ahead. Crying from the underclassmen, yelling from the instructors, and the nervous sweats of the SeeD was enough to drive anyone mad. Finally, they reached the front gate. But surprisingly, no enemies were there.<p>

Irvine and Quistis followed the instructions given to them, and proceeded to the Quad. Irvine was quite excited. He needed electricity in his life. He needed to live on the edge. Although he enjoyed the peaceful times, there was nothing like an all-out brawl to get his heart pounding. Well, besides girls, of course. When they reached the Quad, they took their positions, awaiting an attack. To their shock, none had come yet.

* * *

><p>"So uh, where're the bad guys?" Irvine tipped his hat anxiously. Quistis looked around. All that was seen was a large group of SeeD ready for the attack.<p>

"I'm…not sure." Suddenly, the sound of dozens of bangs rang out, startling everyone around. Still, there were no enemies. Glancing out of the Quad, Quistis was able to see the surface of Galbadia Garden. Dozens of soldiers stood on the G-Garden balcony, a couple meters from the edge of the Quad. "Alright everyone! Get ready for the attack!" she yelled behind her to her SeeD army. "Irvy, you ready?" She awaited his response, keeping her eyes glued to the enemies ahead. The soldiers just stood there. Strange. No response came from Irvine. "Irvy?" She looked down to see Irvine out cold. Looking back, she saw the entire Quad group out cold as well. "WHAT THE HELL?" She began to panic, searching for what caused this widespread unconsciousness. Then she found her answer: sleeping gas. Those loud sounds were the soldiers firing sleeping gas, and unfortunately, Quistis was the only one junctioned to be immune to sleep attacks. Turning her eyes back to G-Garden, she saw the soldiers preparing to enter the Quad. "Well, isn't this dandy."

* * *

><p>"The hell's the enemy?" The young martial artist initiated a bout of paranoia. Something was wrong. Why wasn't the enemy attacking? A voice came out over his radio.<p>

"ZELL!" No time was wasted in grabbing the radio and shoving it to his face.

"Quistis! What the hell is going on?"

"I'm alone! They used sleeping gas! The entire quad except for me is out cold! They're about to attack!"

The color of Zell's face completely drained. It was a trick all along. The ramming was to alert the Garden of the impending attack. Logically, SeeD would gather into one or two big places, making G-Garden's attack with sleeping gas all that more easy. And since G-soldiers are renowned for using brute strength over magic, nobody would be junctioned for sleep attacks. This left Quistis alone to the mercy of most likely dozens of G-soldiers. He could order her to retreat, but then the sleeping SeeD would all be at the mercy of those G-soldiers. And as everyone knows, they don't have any such thing as mercy.

"DAMMIT!" He looked around. "EVERYONE! JUNCTION SLEEP IMMUNITY IMMEDIATELY! NOW!" The dozens of SeeD gathered around him started to panic. They all did as instructed.

"ZELL!" Quistis radioed again. Zell heard some commotion in the background, indicating the soldiers were attacking.

"Quistis! Report, Quistis!" Selphie, standing next to Zell, looked like a little girl needing to go to the bathroom. The entire situation seemed hopeless at this point.

"Zell, there's too ma…" the radio went dead.

"SHIT!" Zell was not prone to using that particular word, but this case heralded the need. His plan was so carefully thought out, and without even a large attack, it was all for nothing. No soldiers had even attacked anywhere but the Quad yet! Then something unexpected happened. Another voice called out over the radio.

"Listen carefully. Is this Squall Leonhart?" The voice was gruff and cold, obviously a soldier. Zell carefully brought the radio to his mouth, contemplating what to do.

"Affirmative," he responded slowly. He couldn't let them know that their Commander was gone. It'd make them entirely vulnerable.  
>"Good. I have a proposition for you. I have my entire squadron here with nearly all of your SeeD asleep. If you don't comply, they will all be dead shortly. We have the blonde in captivity as well, and she will suffer the same fate." The impromptu commander cringed at the word "captivity". Quistis was not an animal- she was a human being. Those bastards are going to pay.<p>

"What do you want?"

"You, and your highest ranking officials. You will be imprisoned. The SeeD throughout Garden will be tied up until further notice, though no harm will come to them. Yet."

Zell's blood was boiling. How dare those bastards. However, he quickly reasoned one thing- Galbadia was not behind the possible assassination against Laguna. If they had gone after Squall, they'd know he wasn't there. Someone else had to be behind it. Dammit, this situation was hopeless as hell. What was he supposed to do? He glanced at Selphie, who had been listening. She lowered her head, and nodded in compliance.

"You…have a deal. Two of those higher ranking officials are already in your custody. Myself and the final official will come to you in the Quad. We'll come alone, of course."

"Good."

Good, indeed. Good that Xu was smart. She had been monitoring the radio line since the ramming, and had been transmitting everything that had been said to Estharian Presidential Aides. Hopefully, help would be there soon.


	9. The Informant

_**The Informant**_

As soon as Zell and Selphie arrived at the Quad, they were tied up. Selphie was disarmed; Zell wasn't, as nobody really knew his gloves were his weapons. Quistis, already bound and disarmed, glanced at her teammates. Irvine had finally awaken from his slumber, and was completely clueless as to what was going on, but decided it best not to ask at the moment.

"Alright," the head soldier, an elite, began, "commence with the binding of everyone remaining in Garden." Zell's head dropped, ashamed at the decision he made.

"Psst!" He glanced up to see Quistis whispering. "It was for the best!"

"What is going on?" Irvine whispered.

"Hey! Shut up!" the guard instructed. "Now. You four, come with me. The rest of you, your orders are the same. Tie up everyone, and keep guard until further instructions are provided." The guard saluted, prompting his cadets to salute back.

"Yes sir!" they responded in unison. Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine followed the head guard, and they in turn were followed by six other guards. They knew they could have taken all of them easily, but it would jeopardize the lives of everyone in Garden to do so. Until they could come up with something, they were officially captives of the G-army. A ramp was brought out connecting the Quad with the second floor of G-Garden.

"Don't look down," the head guard warned.

Irvine, ever so curious, happened to look down when crossing the ramp. He nearly lost his balance, but was able to maintain a composure. Once inside G-Garden, the four were led to the previous location of the 2F Waiting Room, now replaced by a prison cell. There was one toilet, one bed, and no windows. Further, there wasn't a door- only bars.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me," the cowboy moaned.

"Um, what about bathroom privacy for us ladies?" Selphie requested, sweetly.

"Get in," one of the guards replied, showing no subtlety of compassion. The crew got in the cell, and it was closed and locked. The head soldier whipped out a radio.

"President Caraway! Come in! President Caraway!"

"In. Respond, soldier."

"The birds have been captured."

"Excellent. Proceed according to plan. Bring them back to headquarters."

"Roger. Out." He placed his radio back into his pocket and grinned. "Well boys, enjoy your vacation in Deling City!" With that he walked away.

"Uh, Irvine?" Zell asked. The cowboy tipped his hat and looked at his comrade.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you said Caraway was a cool guy?" Irvine sat down and chuckled for a moment.

"Looks like I was dead wrong."

* * *

><p>At long last, the trio of Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin arrived at their destination: Deling City. To their shock, there was no Garden. There was no chaos. There was no fighting.<p>

"So, where's the action, ya know?"

"Hm. Let's walk around for a bit."

They passed by the beautifully lit fountain, and by some of the shops. Though Deling City was the world's center of corruption, nobody could deny its nightly aestheticism.

"I find it hard to believe we beat Garden here."

"OTHER LOCATION."

"Maybe we were wrong, ya know? Maybe Squall took Garden somewhere else?" The three sat down on a bench in front of the large gate used in the assassination attempt weeks prior.

"I don't know. Where else could it have gone? Let's narrow it down. We were just at Dollet and Timber, and they weren't there. There's no point in going to Winhill or FH. I doubt Garden can make it to Esthar."

"TRABIA? SHUMI?"

"Nah. We saw the direction Garden was going. It would've had to turn around and go north, around Balamb to go there. I wish I knew what was going on." He slammed his fist into the bench seat next to him. Suddenly, a mischievous grin formed, and he stood up. "Follow me."

"Where are we goin'?"

"To see our informant."

* * *

><p>"President Loire!" Three presidential aides rushed into Odine's laboratory, panting for breath.<p>

"What's up?" One of the aides approached him with a recording device.

"Sir, we received this transmission from Garden just a few minutes ago." He played the tape of the conversation among Quistis, Zell, and the Galbadia soldier. Once it was over, a look of pure anxiety spread across the room. Laguna began scratching his head.

"Uh, what exactly should we do?" He turned around to face Kiros and Ward, looking for some guidance.

"I say we try to wake Squall up. This is an emergency," Kiros suggested.

"Alright. I'll go try to wake him up. Ohhh crap. What about Rinoa?"

"She's been in the clinic room for a few hours already. Odine, how long are these tests going to run?" The minute scientists began to ponder for a minute.

"Hm. I have collected enough data at zis point, except…"

"Except what?"

"Odine vould like to see how ze sorceress reacts to stress. It vould be excellent data, indeed. Go tell her vat has happened. Zen, ve let her go."

"Uh…whatever you say!" Laguna offered, trying to understand .

* * *

><p>"Hey," Selphie began. "Maybe we could break out like we did at D-District Prison! Zell, tell the guard a snake bit one of us!"<p>

"No," Zell and Quistis replied in unison. Selphie sprouted a pouty face.

"Why not?"

"Because if we did escape, they'd likely execute everyone in Garden. To jeopardize them would be selfish," Zell explained.

"And, right now we're over the ocean. Where would we escape to?" Quistis reasoned.

"Ah, I guess you're right. But, what're they going to do with us?"

"Well, one thing is for sure." They all turned to Zell. "They're not responsible for whatever happened to Squall. They asked me if I was him. If they had abducted him, or used him to get to Laguna, they'd have no reason to ask that question."

"Damn! So we've got more than one enemy?" Irvine finally contributed.

"Looks like it." The four lowered their heads in contemplation.

"I hate to point out the obvious, but we'll probably be executed," the commander-for-a-day said. Selphie's eyes got wide. Quistis and Irvine had already expected this, and were not as surprised. "I failed everyone."

"No you didn't!" Quistis tried to appease her dear friend. "Your planning was brilliant!"

"But theirs was better! And they're not SeeD! And Seifer is not leading them so that means an ordinary soldier beat my planning." Zell was on the verge of tears. At the end of every sentence, he slammed his fist on the ground.

"Wait, how do you know Seifer is not leading them?" Irvine asked. Zell looked up.

"Well, I assumed that…DAMMIT! That explains it! He's familiar with SeeD tactics, and he knew our strategy from the previous battle. He's behind this!" The four became speechless for a few moments at this realization.

"Oh my Hyne," Quistis said. "Yes, it all makes sense now."

"What does?"

"Yesterday, Squall received an anonymous letter. He opened it in my office. Right after reading, he asked to use my computer to locate specific coordinates. When he left, he forgot to close out of the map system. I happened to glance at it, and I just now realized that it was the same place where Seifer and Squall fought when Squall got his scar. Seifer probably fed Squall false information to lure him somewhere, and that's how Galbadia knew to attack us now." Everyone's blood was suddenly boiling. What the hell was Seifer's problem, anyway?

"If I ever see him again, I'm going to rip him a new asshole!" Zell punched the floor again.

"Wait a minute. Something still doesn't add up," the cowboy added. "If Seifer was behind all of this, then again, why would the head soldier ask if you were Squall?" He looked to Zell. "Plus, wasn't his goal to help Ultimecia? She's gone. Why side with Galbadia now?"

"Man, I have no freakin' idea. And I'm worried about Squall and Rinoa, too. I have no idea what type of situation they are in. Hopefully, it's better than ours." The other three nodded in agreement, and went back to speculating their fate.

* * *

><p>Rinoa had been sitting in the same chair for hours now, and if anything, she could say this was possibly one of the most boring experiences ever. She had machines hooked up to places she didn't even know she had places, testing every vital imaginable. She spent the time by wondering how Squall was doing. How come he hadn't come seen her yet? Surely, he was done with the challenge course by now. What if something happened to him? She grimaced at the possibility. What if he needed her, and she was being so selfish to stay and get the tests done? The grimace strengthened. She was broken out of her concentration by seeing Laguna, Kiros, and Ward walk into the room. Her anxiety heightened when she saw the sorrowful looks on their faces.<p>

"Oh Hyne. Please tell me Squall is alright!" Her heart pounded uncontrollably. She couldn't take it if something did.

"Oh, he's just fine. He was extremely exhausted after his challenge course, which he completed with flying colors by the way. So he's sleeping," the president reassured her. He looked back towards Kiros, who nodded his head. "We uh…do have other pressing matters, though."

Rinoa sighed, and her heartbeat returned to normal. As long as Squall was alright, so was she.

"So what's wrong?"

"Well, you're not going to believe this. Galbadia Garden showed up on our radar."

"What!"

"Yeah, and uh…they kinda attacked Balamb Garden." He scratched the back of his head nervously. He didn't want to piss off a sorceress today.

"What! What is going on? Is everyone alright? What do they want this time?" Her heartbeat skyrocketed yet again. Tiny sparks of electricity radiated from her, likely from her anger.

"Uhhh, hold on there!" Laguna tried to calm her. "Everything will be okay!"

"How is everyone?"

"Well, that's the other bad news. From what our intelligence is telling us, Galbadia sneak attacked, and SeeD were unprepared. Zell, Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis have been taken into Galbadia custody, and everyone within Garden is tied up and under Galbadian supervision until further instructions are given to them."

The sparks began intensifying. Five minutes ago, she was bored out of her mind. Now, she had so many thoughts and emotions running through them it wasn't even funny. She felt guilt for leaving Garden. She had warned Squall that something could happen, and they needed their commander. She was so selfish to go along with the idea, all because she wanted to be normal again. On another side of the story, she felt intense anger. She had been fighting with Galbadia her entire life. The events from a couple weeks prior left a comfort in her soul that maybe Galbadia would be done with their old ways. How dare them!

"Wake up Squall!" she ordered adamantly.

"We tried. He's just too exhausted." Now she had the urge to scream at the top of her lungs.

"I can heal him! Are these done?" Rinoa looked up with fierce intensity at the trio.

"Uh, yeah, but…" Before Laguna could finish, Rinoa ripped off every monitor attached to her.

"Which way?" She hurriedly asked.

"Next room down," Kiros replied.

The three followed her, curious about her claim that she could heal him. Sure, she was a sorceress, but how could she do something that Odine's science couldn't? This, they had to see.

Rinoa spotted her knight lying down, breathing heavily in his sleep. She began to glow golden, and her hair began to rise. She placed her hand on his chest, and a white light engulfed Squall, similar to a Full-Life spell. The trio covered their eyes from the brightness. After a moment, the light subsided. To the dismay of everyone, Squall arose from his slumber cautiously.

"Um, what just happened?"

The aura and sparks surrounding Rinoa disappeared, and she appeared calm yet again.

"Rinoa, how did you do that?" Laguna inquired.

"I…don't know," she stammered. Whatever just happened was clearly unintentional on the part of Rinoa.

"Commander Leonhart," Kiros began, formally. "We have very very pressing matters." Squall face-palmed.

'Figures I'd wake up to bad news.'

* * *

><p>The Posse came upon a desecrated wooden house near the outskirts of Deling City. It was clearly deserted; nobody in their right mind would want to live here. The houses surrounding it were in similar condition. It was hard to believe that Deling City could be so extravagant and be home to some of the richest men in the world, yet such neighborhoods exist.<p>

"Yo, Seifer. You sure the informant lives here?"

"Yep."

"How could someone so poor get top-secret information on people like Caraway, ya know?" Seifer grinned. He proceeded to walk in the front door; his posse followed him. Sitting in a chair tinkering with some computer contraption was a man in green pants, a white shirt, an orange jacket, and a blue cap. Raijin and Fujin recognized him instantly. He spotted the trio, stood up, and saluted.

"Greetings, sir!"

* * *

><p>"And that's the story," Laguna finished explaining the situation to Squall.<p>

"Damn! We have to go to Deling City." Everyone in the room was awestruck.

"Deling City? Squall, we know they're your best friends, but if you save them, everyone in Garden will be executed. We need a better strategy than this!" Kiros insisted.

"No, that is the strategy. We fight our way into the Presidential Residence, where they'll most likely be imprisoned. We take the President hostage, and at the threat of his life, force him to release everyone in Garden." The trio was not quite convinced of the security of this plan, though.

"There's a few holes here. One, we're risking the possibility that they're NOT being held there. Two, even if they are, that place is sure to be guarded by at LEAST a hundred soldiers. We'd help and provide assistance, but our soldiers are busy fighting monsters. Finally, how do you know that given that choice that President Caraway would choose to release Garden's members?" Rinoa's ears couldn't believe what she just heard.

"PRESIDENT Caraway! Are you telling me my father is the President of Galbadia? Are you telling me that HE'S behind this?" She felt her anger rising to impenetrable heights.

"Rinoa, calm down. Yes, your father is the president. Galbadia has kept out of media events lately, and this is why very few non-Galbadians knew this," Kiros explained.

"Vell, zey VERE keeping out of media," Odine cut in. Everyone looked at him curiously.

"What?"

"Look at ze television monitor." Everyone did as instructed. There, with the headline Breaking News, was President Caraway standing at the podium of the Presidential Residence, the same location where Deling was killed weeks before.

"Turn it up!" Rinoa demanded. Odine conceded.

"My fellow Galbadians. It is with great pleasure that I present you with some glorious news today. Less than an hour ago, Galbadia Garden encountered and conquered Balamb Garden. Those in charge, and more importantly, those who led the assault which almost led to the downfall of Galbadia, have been imprisoned. Within a few hours, they should be within my direct custody. The sentence for their crime: execution. It will take place exactly where I am standing in six hours, and I myself will do the honor. I, President Caraway, promised to restore Galbadia to its former glory, and today, I take the first step of that process. No longer will SeeD or Garden be a threat to us." He raised his arm up. "ALL HAIL GALBADIA!" Then the transmission went blank.

"Dammit! Okay, we need a plan. NOW!" Rinoa urged.

"Rinoa, would you be emotionally prepared to confront your father?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

"How are you going to fight hundreds of soldiers, robots, and machines?" Laguna asked. Squall put his hand on his hip and looked down.

"I haven't figured that out yet." There was a moment of silence, which was interrupted by the sound of Odine giggling.

"What's up, Odine?"

"Ze soldiers, machines, and robots vill be no problem. Come, let's get on ze Ragnarok."

"WHAT? Do you have a plan, Odine?" Squall exclaimed. He never thought this man would ever be of any use to anyone.

"Yes. Get on ze Ragnarok. You," he pointed to Squall and grinned widely, "carry ze cloning device."


	10. Secrets and Plans

A/N: Shout out to Radiantkeybladefantasy. You are an awesome reviewer- thanks so much!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 8.

_**Secrets and Plans**_

The trio stood before their informant. Raijin and Fujin were more than slightly confused. They recalled meeting the man once, during Seifer's involvement with the Forest Owls. Though they couldn't recall his name, they did remember his always polite nature. The choice of this informant was surprising, to say the least. After the blonde's renegades with Ultimecia, and even attempting to sacrifice the "princess" to Adel, the last person they'd expect to help would be someone as close to Rinoa as this man.

"Good to see you, Watts," Seifer greeted, less enthusiastically than the informant. Watts finished his salute, and immediately a look of concern found its way to his face.

"Got some info for you, sir," he put his hand up to his mouth as if whispering, though the volume of his voice was anything but.

"Go," the leader of the posse instructed. "Wait, first, let's sit down. Been walking around Deling for nearly an hour." The three found their way to a green couch and took a seat. Watts chose a single love seat a few feet away. "Also, I hope you remember Raijin and Fujin. Raijun and Fujin, this is Watts." They all nodded, hoping to avoid long winded introductions and get straight to business.

"Now, Watts. Before you begin, I have some news for you, if you didn't already know. I fed some of the information you provided me to Squall. Next thing I know, Garden ups and leaves, and I have no idea to where. We thought it'd be Deling, but I find it highly unlikely, actually impossible, that we beat them here."

"Yes, sir. I think this will explain in fewer words than I can." The informant picked up a remote control, and turned on the television. It had been paused, and Watts pressed play. On the television was none other than the speech given by President Caraway.

"My fellow Galbadians. It is with great pleasure that I present you with some glorious news today. Less than an hour ago, Galbadia Garden encountered and conquered Balamb Garden. Those in charge, and more importantly, those who led the assault which almost led to the downfall of Galbadia, have been imprisoned. Within a few hours, they should be within my direct custody. The sentence for their crime: execution. It will take place exactly where I am standing in six hours, and I myself will do the honor. I, President Caraway, promised to restore Galbadia to its former glory, and today, I take the first step of that process. No longer will SeeD or Garden be a threat to us." He raised his arm up. "ALL HAIL GALBADIA!" Watts then turned the television off. The trio seemed speechless.

"What the…hell? This can't be right. So he's saying that in under ONE hour, Galbadia beat Garden? I call bullshit. I'm not fond of Squall, but he proved he's a damn good leader. No fucking way," Seifer seethed. None of the other three wished to speak; they were afraid of the leader when he got into these kinds of moods. Still, someone had to reason through this.

"So, where did Garden go, ya know?"

"No idea. Looks like it doesn't really matter. Thinking about it would be pointless. If what they say is true, Squall and the others will be executed at the Presidential Residence sometime in the next few hours. Watts?" The informant looked up. "When was this broadcast?"

"Let's see…four fifteen, sir."

"Okay. So that means that around ten o'clock, the execution will take place. We've got to find a way to stop it."

"CROWD. GUARDS."

"She's right, ya know? The central square will be as full, if not more so, than the ceremony for Edea. Not only that, they'd probably be ready for a fight, ya know? They're bringing them back in Galbadia Garden, it sounds like. Which means they'd have a large portion of the Galbadian military at their disposal. Not to mention all the weapons and robots. We're only three, ya know?"

Seifer chuckled. The other three in the room were now more bewildered than they were before. Had their leader lost his mind? Maybe he was actually going to go through with this.

"Uh, what's up, ya know?"

"We won't have to fight. Not at all," he grinned suspiciously.

"EXPLANATION."

"There's a faint beauty in greed. We don't need to fight an entire army. We simply need to get to one man. Caraway. We give him a choice: let them go, or die. We all know what he'll choose." At this point, a man walked in from an adjacent room. It was Zone, Watts' counterpart.

"Excellent planning, Seifer! I'm impressed!" He had eavesdropped the entire conversation.

"Heh, didn't even know you were here. That's why you guys're the best at what you do. Speaking of which, any other news?"

"Actually, yes." A grim look filled his face. "Strange things have been occurring."

"Strange?" Seifer smirked at that word. After everything that had happened in the past few months, strange was something that wasn't so strange anymore. He had worked with a sorceress from the future. If that isn't the strangest thing ever, he didn't know what was.

"Yes. Let's back up a bit, actually. I'd like to explain how we're getting the information."

"Alright."

"So, shortly after you moved us to Deling, we tried our best to find some way to get close enough to Caraway. The problem is, he's careful. He has guards at both his mansion and the Presidential Residence. So there's absolutely no way of getting in. Or so we thought."

"Thought?" This piqued Seifer's fascination. They had actually found a way to get close to arguably one of three most politically powerful men in the world.

"We eventually found our way to, of all places, the sewers."

"The _SEWERS_?" That was the last thing he had expected to hear. These guys really were ready to stoop to any level to get information. It was…amusing.

"Yes. And you wouldn't believe it. There's a path in the sewer leading to, guess where, Caraway's mansion office."

"Wait, you're telling me that Caraway's office has a secret way into the sewer? Why in the hell would he need something like that? Maybe as an escape route in case of an attack?"

"That's the natural question, and we thought the same thing you did, so we investigated. Now, after monitoring his movements, we determined that for most of the day, he spends his time at the Presidential Residence. However, he still goes back to mansion at night. So, we sneaked into his office from the sewer during the day, and planted bugs. That's how we've been able to hear everything he says during his meetings with generals. That's how we knew about him using the threat of a sorceress. The problem is, he speaks very vaguely to his underlings. He never gives any direct link to his plans. So, we went back."

"This time," Watts stepped in, "we sneaked into his closet and planted a tracking device on each of his suits."

"Guess where the Pres goes nightly?" Zone crossed his arms, amused.

"Let me guess: the sewer?" Seifer inquired.

"Bingo. So the escape route theory is out the window. Now, the strange thing is, once he actually gets into the sewer, our tracking devices become rendered useless. It's like there's some technological barrier down there. Our tracking devices, bugs, cameras, and hell, even cell phones simply do not work down there."

"Interesting. So, he's hiding something down there?" His question was rhetorical, thinking to himself.

"That's the most likely explanation. But as to what, we don't know."

"Alright," he said standing up. "I'd love to play Sherlock Holmes, but frankly we have more pressing matters at hand. We have to find a way into the Presidential Residence and stop the execution. After that, we'll find out just what ole Caramel-boy is hiding."

"BOTH," one of the posse finally contributed.

"Hey, yeah. Maybe we could kill two birds with one stone, ya know? The residence is highly guarded at all times. There's no direct way in. But if Caraway has a secret passage from his own office to the sewers, maybe he has one into the residence as well."

"Excellent idea," the blonde complimented, snapping his fingers. "There's a good chance we'll either find a way into the residence, or what he's hiding. It's better than trying to find a direct route in, because we already know there isn't one."

"Actually," Zone stepped in, "that idea is good in theory, but bad in practice. For one, Watts and I have scoured every inch of that sewer, and we haven't found whatever it is he's hiding, and we sure as hell haven't found an entrance into the residence. That means that whatever he's hiding is probably behind some trap door down there. It won't be easy to find, and especially not in less than six hours. Further, even if we did find a way into the residence, if we just waltz right in, we risk being caught."

Seifer grunted. He saw the logic, and knew it to be true, but there didn't seem like any other options. "Okay, well, do YOU have any other ideas?"

Zone flashed a sinister smile. "Actually, I do."

* * *

><p>Red streaked across the sky as the Ragnarok headed to Deling City. Piloting was an Estharian employee from the airstation. In the cockpit, Squall held Rinoa close in a long embrace. He knew what was ahead, and anticipated with great anxiety the emotional toll it was going to take on his girlfriend.<p>

"Rinoa…are you ready for this?" She looked up at him, mouth quivering. "You know, you can stay on the ship if you prefer."

She contemplated taking him up on that offer. Her heart was beating rapidly, thoughts raced through her mind faster than the airship they were on. Sure, she strongly disagreed with her father's political standpoints, and even opposed his army via a resistance faction, but she had never gotten into a physical altercation with him or in this case, threaten his life. She knew this had to be done; a public execution of innocent people, and those people being her friends, warranted this outcome.

The one thing she had never expected was her father stooping this low. True, he never was a stereotypical family man, but he had shown at least hints of compassion from time to time. An instance of this was ordering Irvine to retrieve her from D-District Prison. Now, he was intentionally attempting to kill innocent people. And he wasn't just ordering it- he volunteered to do it himself! Her trust in her father was at this point completely betrayed.

Her thoughts travelled to Zone and Watts. She recalled the story about how their fathers were executed by Deling himself in front of the two boys. It was a well-known story; it was the story about how the Forest Owls came about. She was now in a similar predicament, but she'd be damned if she let him actually go through with it. As emotionally painful as it may be, she had to stop him. It was just so ironic at times how history tried to repeat itself.

She squeezed Squall even tighter. No amount of comfort was near satisfying enough at this point. He sensed her tension, and increased his as well. His hands found her way to the back of her hair, and he began caressing it softly. She had completely forgotten to answer his question.

"Rinoa?"

"I…have to help," she sniffled.

"You don't have to do anything. I can…do it myself," he said reluctantly, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to take on the entire military.

"It's not that…it's just, I feel like it's something I need to do. I have to confront him."

"Understood."

"Squall?" She looked him in the eyes.

"Hm?"

"What are we going to do with him once we resolve this issue?" To her surprise, the answer came from someone else on the bridge: Kiros.

"That's actually a very good question, as this is a very delicate situation. Normally, Esthar tries to remain neutral in world affairs, but this is complicated. First of all, note that Laguna and Ward, as well as myself, coming along on this mission, already demonstrates our involvement in this matter. However, as we are still recovering from the Lunar Cry, we really cannot do anything that might spark a war. Understandably, you will want to arrest him. This, we support. However, it cannot be the case that he is in custody in Esthar. The only logical decision is to imprison him in Garden."

"Understood," the commander replied. "We actually recently constructed a couple few jail cells for special cases."

"Excellent.

"Squall, uh..." Laguna tried to say something. He knew this was a stressful time, and it probably wasn't the best for father-son bonding, but he at wanted to say something. "I wish you the best of luck. I really wish we could be out there fighting with you when we get there, but, well…"

Squall raised his hand up, indicating he didn't need an explanation. "It's fine. Also, this would be a damn good time to figure out a fight plan. Rinoa and I can't fight the entire Galbadian army ourselves. Odine said he had a plan, but I don't even know where the hell he is. We only have an hour left before this execution is supposed to happen, and forty five minutes until we get there."

"Um, I think Odine said he was going to be in the hangar."

"Alright, I'll go check it out."

"I'll go, too," Rinoa offered, smiling. The two proceeded down the elevator and opened the door to the hangar. What they found left them nearly speechless.

"Damn…" Odine turned around at the reaction, a proud grin framed his face.

"You are impressed, no?"

"Oh…my…hyne," the young sorceress commented. It looked like Squall _would_ be taking on the entire army himself. Standing before them was 100 Squalls.


	11. Prelude to Chaos

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8.

_**Prelude to Chaos**_

Expectedly, the crowd had gathered. The streets were saturated with eager eyes, all waiting to see the execution promised by President Caraway. Guarding the Presidential Residence gate was a multitude of Galbadian soldiers, three of which happened to be the Posse. The idea was a brilliant maneuver on Zone's part. Seifer glanced out among the crowd and recalled all that had transpired within the last few hours.

"_Okay, well, do YOU have any ideas?"_

_Zone flashed a sinister smile. "Actually, I do. There's no way we can get into the residence directly, and as far as we know, there's not a way to get in from the sewer. But, there is a small window of opportunity for us."_

"_Which is?"_

"_Galbadia Garden is still on its way, and when it gets here, it's not just going to park in the residence's front yard. The gang will have to be escorted in through the front gates. That's when we slip in." Seifer shot him a look of bewilderment. Could the man really possibly be this stupid? Who had he hired?_

"_You're forgetting something. THEY'RE NOT JUST GOING TO LET US IN! Security is going to be tight." Zone smiled again. _

"_Which is why…_we _will be the security. We jump some Galbadian soldiers, take their uniforms, and guard the front gate. When the time comes, we slip in as well. No questions asked." _

_Damn. Even Seifer was impressed. He inwardly beamed at this duo's expertise. Watts was a professional at gathering information, and Zone was an ace at planning. Even if some of his plans were farfetched as hell, like that damn train mission he had heard about. Hopefully this would turn out better. Hopefully._

"_Good plan. Zone and Watts, you guys stay here. No offense, but you're not fighters. You wouldn't be of any assistance this time. You guys," he turned to Raijin and Fujin, "let's go."_

_Fast forward less than an hour and three soldiers guarding Caraway's mansion found themselves the victim of sleeper holds, and were stripped naked. _

"_So uh, where are we gonna put these guys, ya know?" Seifer looked around, hoping the answer would find its way to him. He couldn't leave these guys out here. Someone would find out. Luckily, he spotted what he needed. _

"_There," he pointed to a circle covering the ground. It seemed as though the sewer had been the answer to everything today. Each of the Posse picked up their nude counterpart and carried them over to the covering. Seifer used his free hand to remove to opening, revealing a long drop down. He let his counterpart fall freely down, hearing a splash after a few seconds. Raijin and Fujin followed in suit. Seifer chuckled and thought to himself. 'This must be a bad fucking day for them. First they get knocked out and stripped naked, then when they wake up, they'll be covered in shit. Oh well.'_

Now they were waiting. The crowd had grown to at least a couple thousand, many with signs and many chanting at the top of their lungs. In a strange twist of fate, he recalled a very similar scene a couple weeks prior, but the roles were reversed. Last time, he had been the Sorceress' knight. He stood before the masses as one of their leaders, ready to kill on command. Now, his 'glory' days gave way to him needing to steal a Galbadian suit to sneak into the residence and work against the very people he commanded before. Behind his helmet, he smirked at the irony. Strangely, he preferred it this way. There was a sense of justice this time around. He knew he was doing right. This was true glory. Maybe this time, he'd actually be successful in his endeavors.

He glanced out among the people in the crowd once more, and their reaction cemented his beliefs. Not a single person supported what Caraway was doing. There were signs advocating the SeeDs' release. There were chants of "Let them go!". A smile found its way to his face again. It was a rare comfort, indeed, but comforting nonetheless that at least some people in this world had a sense of morality. In that moment, his only wish was that he had acquired that sense sooner.

Something was spotted in the distance, far into the night sky. It was gigantic, red, and it illuminated the landscape for miles.

"Well guys," the former knight mumbled, "looks like it's showtime."

* * *

><p>A horde of Galbadian soldiers found their way to the cell containing Zell, Irvine, Quistis, and Selphie. The four were still unaware of their impending fate. They all looked up questioningly as one of the guards removed a set of keys from his belt and began to unlock the cell.<p>

"Get up. Time to go," he ordered.

"Uh, where exactly are we going?" Zell asked. He was hopeful that the answer was "home", but he knew that was too good to be true.

"We're five minutes from Deling City. We will escort you to the Presidential Residence for your execution," he replied coldly. All eyes within the cell widened, and all hearts sank low. Reality quickly sank in. They knew then that there was nothing that could be done. If they tried to escape, they would be responsible for the deaths of everyone in Garden. Squall was Hyne-knows-where, probably in similar condition, so nobody would be coming to save them. They had to go through with it.

A few tears rolled down the face of Selphie.

"Don't we at least get a fair trial?" she requested.

"Sefie…we didn't even do anything wrong," Irvine reminded. She looked down once more.

"Oh…right."

Zell wasn't as much sad as he was utterly pissed. It took every bit of willpower contained within him not to bash in the heads of every Galbadian alive.

"Tch, fine. Let's go," he spat.

* * *

><p>Galbadia Garden landed, and the gang was being escorted through the immense crowd by a group of Galbadian soldiers. Each of the four knew it was the end, and like it is said, their lives started flashing before their eyes.<p>

Selphie's first thought was the concert that they had put on as a group for Squall. A dream she had held firmly throughout her life, and promises made to her past friends, was accomplished with the three she was about to be executed with. This led to memories of Trabia, and a feeling of utter anguish overcame her as streams of salty water poured silently down her face.

True, SeeD ideally were not meant to have emotions, but facing death was not that easy. Everyone except for one person failed at that, and that was probably why he was the Commander. A slight curve formed in her lips as she recalled a man her age that she really looked up to. Squall had been the perfect SeeD; he did or felt nothing unless ordered to, and constantly strived to better himself. Memories of running into him at wee morning hours in the training center were proof of that. Yet in a matter of only a period of a few weeks, he had done nearly a 180. The cold, perfect SeeD had become human; his emotions were apparent to anyone around him. Now, her entire mouth was grinning, while the tears continued. It was an honor to have been a part of that change.

Zell's mental pacing was slightly different. He didn't fear the pain of execution, and at this point, he didn't even feel anger towards his captors. His sole thought was his mother back in Balamb. He knew his execution would be live and televised, meaning she would undoubtedly see it. He knew it had most likely already been announced worldwide, and could not even bear to imagine his mother's pain at the moment. True, recent events confirmed that Ma Dincht was only his adopted mother, but dammit, blood is red for everyone. As far as he was concerned, she was his mother, end of discussion. She raised him, fed him, supported him through every endeavor. Without his mother's strength, he had no uncertainty that he would have never succeeded.

Irvine's reaction to his impending doom was very similar. Unlike Zell, Irvine had no adopted parents. He was sent straight to Garden at a young age. His every moment was spent attempting to divert his loneliness and feeling of inadequacy. This was accomplished by perfecting his sharpshooting skills, and by flirting. Through it all, he had come out of it as he always had been- a loner. But recent events changed that. Through fate, he had been reunited with the only family he could remember. And now, they were about to meet their end. He was as well, but it didn't really register. All he wanted was to somehow save his family. Not friends, dammit, they were his _family. _

Quistis' mindset was perhaps the most different. Rather than feeling emotions or recalling past events, she quickly brainstormed as many scenarios as she could about how to avert this entire disaster. This had always been her way- think through things logically. So far, however, none of the plans she had come up with were satisfactory. If they tried to escape, they would cause the deaths of every SeeD in Garden. And she knew Caraway wouldn't negotiate. Maybe it was hopeless.

* * *

><p>Seifer observed the movement of the group from the time Garden landed. They were now about twenty feet away, and closing in. He nudged Raijin and Fujin. There were about ten other guards protecting the gate: perfect. They could slip in unnoticed. A noise was heard, and the trio registered it to be the gate beginning to open. Looking over their shoulder, they glimpsed Caraway standing at the podium atop the Residence, smirking at his imminent victory. Finally, the time had come. Seifer was within arm's reach of the gang. The trio blended in with the commotion, and appeared as guards escorting the four. The plan had worked; they walked in undetected. Behind them, they heard the gate close. No turning back now.<p>

The group came upon a staircase leading to the top of the Residence. Seifer readied his gunblade on his back, and felt a nervous sweat come across him. This was the second time he was going to threaten the life of a Galbadian president. Hoo-boy.

At long last, the group reached the top of the Residence. They approached the podium slowly. The four to be executed were sending Caraway very unforgiving looks, while the trio stood closely to them, slightly more closer than the other guards. From there, they could see for miles across Deling City. Seifer looked down at the crowd, who had maintained their chanting status. Then, something caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. A red light sparkled ever so faintly in the night sky, but he gave it no thought. He had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Galbadia," began Caraway proudly, "standing before you are four individuals responsible for the poverty we face, the ineptitude we feel in ourselves as a nation, and the sole reason that we were not the most powerful nation in the world." A cacophonous roar of "boos" rang out in protest of his speech. Caraway grinned in response, not realizing the boos were at him.

'Really?' Zell thought, sarcastically. 'We caused all of that, huh? How about I bust your ass up and solve all these peoples' problems?'

Seifer noted something in Caraway's words: "were". Why had Caraway not said "are"? Did he now consider them to be the most powerful? What secret was he hiding? Caraway continued.

"Weeks ago, these four led the assault against a great ally of ours: Sorceress Edea. Had they not interfered, Galbadia would at this moment hold Esthar in bondage, and the world would be our playground."

'What the hell?' Zell thought. 'He's the one who planned the assassination in the first place! What in the blue hell is this? What is he up to? Pathetic bastard!'

"But, my people, we shall not have to worry about the meddling of SeeD any longer! Captain, my sword," he commanded. He extended his arm outward signaling for a Galbadian soldier to hand him his weapon. As the guard began to do as instructed, the roar of loud engines thundered, and out of the clouds above, a large dragon-ship began to lower itself above the Residence.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" Caraway bellowed, eyes widened in disbelief. He had the desire to yell at the guard to hand him his sword again, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the machine. The rest of the population couldn't either.

"YEAH!" Zell hollered, without realizing it.

"Zell!" Quistis whispered. "By our reasoning earlier, the Ragnarok must be controlled by Galbadians, right? I mean, they're the ones trying to attack Laguna? But judging by his reaction, I'd say we were wrong."

Zell's evil grin faded upon this realization. "Then…who?"

The Posse was equally curious, and kept their eyes on the ship. Seifer waited for the right moment to threaten Caraway. Now was not it.

"SOLDIERS!" Caraway ordered, "FIRE! DESTROY THAT SHIP!"

At that moment, hell officially broke loose. Around 150 Galbadian soldiers lifted their guns and began firing at the Ragnarok as it continued its slow descent. The citizen population began running and seeking shelter, in fear of the impending disaster. Within seconds, the only people in front of the Residence were soldiers. But their guns were futile; the magnetic shields equipped by Odine deflected everything that was thrown at it. The shields produced a beautiful green light, similar to the shields utilized by Lunatic Pandora. The sight next shocked the hell out of everyone. The Ragnarok reached a low altitude of maybe 20 feet or so from the ground, and the door to the hangar began to open, and what seemed to be an army commenced jumping off of the ship, to the ground. Everyone took a closer look, as it appeared that every soldier in this army was the same man.

The mouths of the Posse and the gang dropped, and Seifer rubbed his eyes.

"Raijin!" He whispered. "Have I been drinking today?"

After a moment of contemplation he replied, "I was about to ask you the same thing, ya know?"


	12. Capture

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8.

A/N: Once again, I sincerely apologize for taking so much time to update. My last year of college has been rather hectic, though I will try my best to update more often. My genuine thanks to everyone who reads this story; it means a lot!

_**Capture**_

All of the Posse, the gang, and Caraway stood with their mouths agape observing an army of Squalls descending from the Ragnarok. The Galbadian soldiers, though perplexed, were on guard preparing for the onslaught. The flee of the pedestrians left ample room for a large battle to ensue, and the night sky in conjunction with lights of Deling City seemed fitting for the occasion; it had looked similar during the Edea assassination attempt. From the far sidelines, reporters hesitantly covered the breaking story.

Seifer contemplated his position; with the distraction, it would be entirely possible to carry out his mission against Caraway, and further, if he did so now, he could prevent the possibility of Caraway ordering the execution of Garden members in retaliation. His Hyperion laid hidden in wait.

"Well, I guess Laguna was quite a player, huh?" Irvine jested quietly. He wasn't sure what to make of it, and quite frankly, Laguna having 100 children who looked exactly like Squall was probably the most logical explanation anyone could have provided. Sure, Laguna didn't seem like the type, but then again, who knew?

Zell went to scratch the back of his head, but was unable to due to handcuffs binding him. "Yeah, no kidding. I guess I should ask Ellone to send me back as _him._ Wonder what kinda dreams Squall was lucky enough to have." Irvine giggled a little at the remark, and Quistis and Selphie remained silent, quickly forgetting the fact that they were ever going to be executed.

As soon as the first Squall landed, the sound of gunfire from the Galbadians commenced. The Squall army dodged bullets and ran forward to press the attack. Soldiers that were not seen before came out of the woodworks and assisted in the fight on behalf of Galbadia. Caraway watched carefully to attempt to develop an attack plan of his own. From above, he noticed that the Galbadians outnumbered the foe by approximately four times. It might be entirely possible that no plan was needed. However, this quickly proved not to be the case.

The battle rapidly turned into a full-fledged war. Seifer noticed an abundance of glistening blue lights down below; no doubt copies of the Lionheart. War cries and shouts by the Galbadians indicated they were having tremendous difficulty overcoming the invasion. As Squall was ever the silent warrior, nothing was heard from the Squall army except the whooshing of blades.

One fight in the battle pitted six Galbadian soldiers against a single Squall. Five of the soldiers charged the young warrior as one used a Fira spell to provide cover. However, the Squall clone simply leaped above the Fira, dodging it, and aimed his Lionheart downwards towards the five soldiers. They noticed his evasive maneuver and counterattack, prompting them to assume their defensive-ready position. The lionheart was brought down hard and three of the soldiers' swords broke. As they were more combat soldiers than magic users, they now had to rely on hand to hand combat.

One of the soldiers remaining with a sword attempted to slice and dice the clone to no avail, and simply found the Lionheart plunged through his arm. Collapsing in pain, this left five soldiers against the clone. The four combatants made a short distance between themselves and Squall as the magic user attempted a thundaga spell. To their dismay, the clone held his arms up in welcome, and absorbed the thundaga like a gentle summer's breeze. The four remaining charged again, this time surrounding him in a circle. Behind him, one of the disarmed soldiers attempted a knife hand attack, which was met with an inverted side kick to the gut from Squall, sending him flying seven feet back in anguish. While that counterattack was performed, the clone defended against a sword attack from another soldier, which was then countered with a right backhand to the face, throwing the soldier off guard.

During that brief instant, the clone thrust his blade into the soldier's stomach, ending yet another Galbadian. The remaining soldier with a blade tried to take advantage of the momentary distraction by swinging horizontally at Squall's head, however, the clone sensed the air vibrations and ducked just in time. While ducking, the clone utilized a powerful roundhouse kick, accelerating the soldier backwards. The remaining hand combatant sprinted forwards to attempt a spinning hook kick. The clone put up his right arm to block it, then used the gunblade in his left arm as an offensive. Needless to say, the soldier met his end as well. The magic user now confronted the clone with immense trepidation. Hands shaking, he knew that the only spell left in his arsenal that might prove effective was blizzaga, but if it failed, it meant angering an unstoppable beast that would, undoubtedly, end his life. After weighing his options, the soldier put up his arms in surrender, and fled the battle.

This scene was commonplace all around the courtyard. The Squall army made short work of the soldiers; within the first two minutes of battle, at least a fifth of the Galbadian army had met its demise. The sound of gunfire had picked up, and less soldiers attempted to fight with swords, noticing the clear disadvantage of fighting Squall in close range combat. Many began using magic spells such as Firaga and Thundaga, as well, though it seemed the effect was very minimal. The soldiers were now pushed back approximately two-thirds of the distance to the Residence from their initial position. This was clearly going to be a shut-out battle unless something was done.

"BRING OUT THE MACHINES!" Caraway yelled in command. As if on cue, a multitude of SAM08G's, X-ATM092's, GIM47N's, and a BGH251F2 appeared. Due to the metallic nature of the droids, the Squall army developed a slight disadvantage as physical attacks had a severely reduced effect on them. The machines began firing lasers at the Squalls, and since most of the machines were located behind the Galbadian army, the combined effect of the numbers game with being unable to defend against the long distance attacks became overwhelming. Gradually, the Squall army began being pushed back towards the Ragnarok, though still without any casualties.

Seifer was now starting to sweat profusely. He was always confident; that wasn't his problem. The problem was his recently matured conscience did not want to jeopardize anyone's life. He had to time his move perfectly, or else a massacre could occur. The guards who escorted the gang to Caraway were now down on the battlefield. That left the gang, the Posse, and Caraway. If they wanted, this could be over with very soon. Seifer put the first stage of his plan into motion. Noticing Caraway was intensely distracted by the battle below, he gave Raijin and Fujin, who were standing behind the gang, a hand wave.

Raijin and Fujin began to unhook the handcuffs binding the four, while Raijin whispered "Shh!". The four exchanged glances at each other, unsure of what the hell was going on. This was probably the strangest day of their lives. First, they discover Galbadia Garden on satellite, then uncover a conspiracy against Laguna, then get captured by Galbadia, then were sentenced to execution by a man they trusted, then witnessed an army of Squalls arrive, and now some rogue soldiers were letting them go. If they made it out of this alive, they were going to get some serious beauty sleep.

Seifer glanced back over the battlefield and saw that the Squall army, which was dispersed, was now cluttered near to the Ragnarok. 'Cmon, Squall! I know you can fight better than that!'

Without warning the night sky lit up with bright sparks of lightning, and a hole in the sky opened up over the battlefield. The Galbadians looked on with fear and anticipation. Seifer recognized the event immediately: Quetzalcoatl. The gargantuan thunder bird emerged from the sky, basking in its glory. The soldiers began fleeing and crying, leaving the machines at the mercy of the bird.

"NO, YOU BAFFOONS! DON'T LEAVE THEM THERE! GO BACK!" the president roared in agitation at the reaction. Seifer shuttered a bit, realizing that this man did not care one bit about the lives of his soldiers; he'd rather save the machines to win. But it was too late. The deafening blast of lightning shattered the ground where the machines were, and the illumination from the blast left everyone covering their eyes. The combined effect was similar to a Stun Grenade.

Once the lightning had calmed, the spectacle before the audience was unbelievable. Where dozens of robotic war weapons once stood now lay a massive crater with metal strewn to the wayside. What few soldiers remained retreated into the night. This was perhaps the quickest war in history, lasting all of perhaps ten minutes. Caraway loomed with his mouth open and his eyes widened. His superior army had been demolished in less than ten minutes! Perhaps now was the time to retreat. As he turned around to do so, he was met with a gunblade to his throat.

"What the hell are you doing, soldier?" Caraway barked, bewildered as to why his own soldier was threatening him. The soldier holding the gunblade used his free arm to take off the helmet he was wearing, revealing a blonde head of hair, a large scar, and a cocky grin. "You…"

* * *

><p>Her heart raced like a golden chocobo with each step taken. She knew this day would come; it was inevitable. She was the leader of a resistance faction against an army led by this man, her father. If she ever hoped to be successful, it would have boiled down to a confrontation of such magnitude. Yet despite all of her mental preparation, she found herself unbelieving of the situation she was in. Perhaps reviewing hypothetical situations are not as preparatory as she had once believed. What would she say? What would she do? Luckily, whatever the course of action, she wouldn't be doing it alone. Beside her jogged her knight. He would surely know how to handle the situation. After all, he was the LEGENDARY SeeD. A small grin lightened the distressed face of Rinoa.<p>

The two reached a flight of stairs and paused briefly. The path there had been quite easy; the Squall army made sure of that. Up these stairs. That's all the separation remaining between daughter and father. Between peace, and conflict. Between life, and death. It would surely take no longer than a minute to climb these stairs. Years of fighting would conclude in less than one minute. This was it. She looked at Squall for reconciliation. He looked back at her, in a light yet serious tone, and nodded to her. Then, in a sweet gesture, he grabbed her hand and held it tightly, then began to ascend the stairs. She knew then that everything would be alright, and followed in suit.

As the stairs came to a quick conclusion, an image appeared before them that didn't leave much time to register. On the left were the four members of the Garden team, completely free, with two Galbadian soldiers standing beside them. On the right, was the president, held at point blank range with a gunblade, wielded by a confident young man.

"Welcome to the party. You're late," he smirked, placing his free hand on his hip. The two stood there for a moment to try to comprehend what was going on. As did the four from the Garden party. Logic was formulated into Squall's head at immense speed, and a grin of his own formed.

"Oh, you're good." He then glanced over to the two Galbadian soldiers. "I'd be willing to bet gil I know who they are." With that, the two removed their helmets as well, revealing themselves to be Raijin and Fujin. Rinoa had no idea what to think; the last time she saw Seifer, he tried to offer her to Adel. Slightly frightened, she increased her trembling grip on Squall's hand.

"Close - I'm the best!" Seifer remarked, coolly.

" 'scuse me, fellas," Irvine finally piped in. "Would someone tell us what in the HELL is goin' on?" Zell nodded in agreement.

"Later," Squall replied, much to their chagrin. "Let's begin." He released his grip from Rinoa and began walking towards Caraway slowly, the others in observance. Seifer maintained his gunblade at throat level on the President. "Caraway, order the release of all Garden members. Now."

Caraway let out an audible chuckle. "You should know, if anything happens to me, the soldiers will kill everyone in Garden." This was where it was going to get tricky. It was obvious that he values his life more than he wishes death on Garden, so Squall had to find a way to bring this point to light without Caraway going through with the threat.

"With the exception of prison and a fair trial, no harm will come to you if you surrender, and order the release of all Garden members immediately," Squall firmly stated. Rinoa was getting nervous, and bit her bottom lip fiercely.

'No harm…except me accelerating the mass of my foot up his ass!' Zell thought.

"You know," Caraway boldly stated, "I could just order my men to eradicate Garden." Squall was going to have to be convincing now.

"If you were to do so, you'd be killed right now. And if your men went through with it, so be it. SeeD are trained with the expectation of death at any time. You lose, either way, but what you lose is up to you. Your life, or your pride," the Commander threatened. Rinoa cringed at the statement of training to expect death. She knew it was true, but…to put it so bluntly was…disturbing, to say the least. Nonetheless, he was the negotiator here; he knew what he was doing.

The two men eyed each other down, a battle of wits and determination at this point. If Caraway used his radio to order the deaths of Garden, he'd die for sure. If he called it off, he'd live, but be taken into Garden custody. Stunning everyone present, Caraway grinned suspiciously.

"Fine. You win," was all he said. Squall nodded to Seifer, who lowered his gunblade. The president took the radio out of his pocket and dialed a number. "Captain Lu. Come in, Captain Lu."

"Captain Lu, here," came a voice from the speaker.

"Captain, withdraw your men effective immediately. Garden members are to be released." There was a brief pause before a reply came.

"Uh. Are you sure?"

"Indeed. Release Garden members immediately."

"Roger, sir."

By this time, the crowd that had previously fled with the arrival of the Ragnarok had reestablished their presence below, bearing witness to the unfolding events.

"President Caraway, I place you under arrest. You will be held at Garden until further notice," the commander explained. The scene was still confusing, however, as Caraway never relinquished his grin. Was he trying to bluff his way out of this? Something was eerie, but whatever. This crisis was averted effectively. "Hey, uh, Seifer?" The young man turned to see the Commander. "Would you happen to have any handcuffs?" Seifer cover his face with his free hand, signaling comic disappointment.

"It is SO nice to know that the commander of the most elite mercenary force known to man came prepared," he ribbed. He flashed a quick look to Fujin, who grabbed a set of handcuffs that came with her Galbadian uniform, and tossed them to Squall. As Squall handcuffed the dictator, the group of pedestrians began chanting "YES!" rhythmically. It brought a slight comfort to the comrades atop the Residence, as it turned out that not all Galbadians were terrible, power-hungry warlords. The only comrade who wasn't feeling comforted, was the young sorceress. She knew the smile her father wore all too well, and if she was correct, then they had all somehow played into Caraway's hands.


	13. Restoration

A/N: Once again, so sorry for the long update time. My father was hit by a car, and so I had quite a few extra responsibilities, in addition to keeping up with my college work. Hopefully, the chapter doesn't disappoint; it's not really too exciting, but the next chapter will make you think. Promise.

_**Restoration**_

A few hours later, the freed Balamb Garden arrived to rendezvous with its commander, colleagues, and new prisoner. The Ragnarok had left shortly after the arrest was made to transport Laguna and the others back to Esthar. The entire crew had remained silent during those past few hours. Although every single person involved had a million questions racing through their minds, they were both too exhausted to ask, and didn't want to reveal any information in front of their captive. Thus, it'd be better to wait until later. Upon Garden's arrival, the silence was finally broken.

The Commander turned to Seifer, whose motives and allegiance were mentally questioned by everyone except Squall. "You guys are welcome to stay in Garden for a while." Zell's eyes nearly bulged out of his head, as more inquiries formed. Squall was going to get the third degree later. Either he was too trusting, or he had withheld information from the rest of them. Rinoa felt a bit of anger rise as well, though didn't voice it. The reality is, this man had tried to sacrifice her to an evil sorceress, and now he was being invited to stay in their home. Clearly, Squall knew something she didn't, and this was, for all intents and purposes, supposed to be a relationship without secrets.

Seifer nodded. "Thanks." The Posse bowed in appreciation as well. Everyone in attendance was just perplexed. Now they had heard Seifer THANK Squall?

'I doubt even in the dimensions that Gilgamesh has visited that there has ever been a stranger day in existence,' thought Quistis. 'Squall definitely has some explaining to do…after I catch up on some sleep.'

Once Garden arrived, the entire group began herding towards it, sluggishly. The events of today had taken its toll both physically and mentally on everyone. Especially Squall. First, he was up all night questioning why Seifer wanted to meet with him. Then he went to Esthar and engaged in battles with virtual realistic monsters. Then he had to infiltrate the Galbadian capital, defeat an army, and arrest the president.

Xu met the group at the front gate to offer her assistance, knowing full well that everyone must have been exhausted. Her first act of "assistance" was running up to give Quistis and Selphie hugs, both still shaky over the attempted execution. She would have hugged Irvine, but she didn't want to give him any ideas. Squall saluted her, and she returned the gesture. He made a wavy motion with his hand, signaling he wanted to speak to Xu off to the side. The rest of the group understood; he wanted to give instructions without Caraway hearing.

"Squall, it's really good to see you!" She began, offering a tired smile.

"You, too. Xu, everyone is completely exhausted," he started. "So…" he attempted, though he couldn't quite find how to word his instructions without offending her. Xu quickly caught on, and nodded.

"It's okay. You want everyone to catch some shuteye, and me to take over right?" Squall looked up at her, and nodded back.

"I'll stay up, as well. I just want them to get some rest," he confirmed, looking back at the group. "I'll initiate the paperwork and reports involved for this incident, but I'll need your help since I'm unaware of Garden's actions while I was away. Before that, though, I want you to find a couple high ranking SeeDs to guard Caraway in the second floor prison cell."

"Got it!" She saluted him, turned around, and jogged back to Garden to get started on her assigned task. Squall returned to the group to give them instructions.

"Understandably, you are all quite exhausted. Therefore, you are to take however long you need to rest up and recuperate." Zell, Irvine, and Selphie let out a sigh of relief. Quistis felt better as well, though a bit guilty. By his wording, this implied that he was not going to be taking a rest, and he probably deserved one more than the rest of them. Rinoa's first sensation was disappointment; after all that occurred today, she really desired to just cuddle with Squall for comfort, but that was now not going to happen. "Seifer, Raijin, Fujin," he continued, "come with me. We'll find you guys a comfortable place to stay." Turning back to the others, he concluded with "Dismissed," and a salute, which was returned by the crew.

The Commander and the Posse escorted their captive up to the newly constructed prison cell. After the events of weeks prior, Headmaster Cid saw it beneficial to do a bit of construction on Garden. The results so far included the Ragnarok's boarding ramp, and the prison cell. If one goes to the second floor, and has an access card, they can open a door that is just south of the classroom. This leads to a circular hallway that passes directly over the circular walkway on the first floor. This hallway is home to many rooms that contain confidential information and projects, and one of the rooms is the new jail cell.

"In you go," demanded Squall, giving Caraway a forceful push into the cell.

"Was that really necessary, dear Commander?" the President smirked. His grin of amusement was met only with a miffed frown from Squall. Seifer and the Posse were curious. Why was Caraway so calm and seemingly confident? Did Squall not notice this? Perhaps he was simply too fatigued to realize the demeanor of his captive.

Within a few seconds, two buff, bulky SeeD arrived with Xu. Saluting Squall, they introduced themselves.

"Michael Rodeman. Rank A. Magic specialist. Reporting for duty, sir!"

"Paul Helmsley. Rank A. Submission specialist. Reporting for duty, sir!"

"Excellent," Squall remarked. "You two are to guard this man here," pointing over his shoulder to Caraway. "Understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Thanks, Xu," he said. Okay, come with me. He began walking back towards the elevator, Xu by his side, the Posse following close behind. Once they reached the elevator, the commander once again gave out instructions. "Xu, take the elevator to the first floor, and lead them to their suite. Once completed, return to my office." The Posse inwardly became pretty excited when they heard the word "suite". For the past several weeks, they had been living in alleys, on boats, and in abandoned decrepit houses. A suite sounded pretty sweet to them.

"Yes, sir!" Xu saluted. The elevator opened, and the four got on, Xu pressing the down button.

Before the doors closed, Raijin said, "Hey Squall, thanks ya know!" The other two nodded. Once the elevator went down, Squall waited for it to come back up to go to the third floor. Though a thousand things should have been on his mind during the brief wait, he took the opportunity to just exist. He was so tired that even thinking was difficult. Once the elevator came back, he pressed the "3" button. "Paperwork. Yay," he mumbled.

* * *

><p>Xu entered the commander's office and took a seat at the desk, directly across from him. The close vicinity of the two allowed Xu the perfect opportunity to observe the immense toll the day had taken on Squall. Eyes red, with bags under them, hair shuffled, and dried blood still on his face from the battles he had been through. In the silence, it was not difficult to hear his stomach rumbling, most likely from hunger. Though it was a pitiful sight, not an ounce of pity was shed; admiration replaced it. Had he been any ordinary man, he'd have quit before this day even started. Yet here he was, having gone through Hyne knows what, and still wanting to complete his obligations to Garden. His training must have been above and beyond that of an ordinary SeeD. To overcome pain, emotion, fatigue, and hunger, and all in conjunction with one another, is a respectable feat. He truly was, in all regards, the perfect SeeD .<p>

"Okay," he finally began, looking up. "I have no idea what happened in Garden today. So, I guess the most logical place to start is, why was Garden mobile?" Logical? Had that word even had meaning today? In retrospect, nobody in Garden used any bit of logic whatsoever!

She took a moment to try to recall the events of the day in chronological progression. "We thought you were being ambushed, sir." Squall's expression changed from one of fatigue to one of blankness. He just stared, as if looking out on a distant horizon.

"...What?"

"We, uh, we tried to radio the Ragnarok, and it hung up. We then saw that the Ragnarok was headed towards Esthar, while your intended destination was Fisherman's Horizon. Then, once we saw the picture of Galbadia Garden, we assumed that Galbadia had snuck aboard the ship to ambush you. One eventual conclusion was that whoever was behind the assault was trying to lure out President Laguna."

"So, let me get this straight." He ran his hands through his hair frustratingly, making his hair even more disheveled. "All of this occurred, because you all ASSUMED something?"

Xu was quite frightened by the question. She didn't want to be reprimanded for actions that weren't her fault, and even more so, didn't want to invoke the wrath of Squall Leonhart. His temper was enough to make the most experienced SeeD break into tears.

"Um…yes, sir," she answered, bowing her head in shame. Squall, through the exhaustion, hunger, and frustration, was able to notice the response of his colleague, and felt a bit guilty.

"Xu, one of the first rules of a SeeD is to not assume things. We only act on facts, or at least, sufficient evidence," and then to smooth it over to avoid hurting her feelings, added, "though in all honesty, I must admit that the evidence presented was pretty convincing." Xu looked back up, her fear diminishing ever so slightly. He offered a weak smile, which she gratefully returned. He then went back to filling out paperwork with the newly acquired information.

"Squall, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened on YOUR end?" He put down the pen and looked up.

"Well, I had decided to go on a vacation with Rinoa to FH. But due to a personal conversation, once we got aboard Ragnarok, we decided to go to Esthar instead." She wondered what could have resulted in Squall going to Esthar, but as he had mentioned the word "personal", she decided not to ask. "Once we got there, some stuff with Odine happened and I was unconscious for a while. When I awoke, I learned that Galbadia had captured you guys, and, well, the rest you know."

She chucked at his response. That hardly qualified as a good explanation. "Well, I _don't_ know how there were dozens of you fighting against Galbadia!"

"Oh, that. Yeah, they were clones. Odine's idea," he waved his hand.

"Makes…sense. Heh. So, what paperwork do you need me to fill out?"

He seemed hesitant. He felt it his responsibility to complete the paperwork, and didn't want to sacrifice anyone else's sleep. She saw this, and eased his conscious. "I'm not that tired, sir. It's my duty to Garden as well." He admired her work ethic, and handed her a stack of papers. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>The two meandered around the suite in awe at the lavishness.<p>

"This was pretty nice of Squall, ya know?" Raijin stated again, grateful. To be rewarded and welcomed back to Garden with a suite of this extravagance, especially by someone they had tried to kill weeks earlier, was a blessing.

"…Yeah," Seifer replied. He was looking out the enormous window that took the place of a wall. The view was exquisite; Garden at night, with all of its bright lights, was a sight to behold. A sight he had missed. The day had taken a lot mentally out of the Knight, but something else was on his mind. His Posse saw this as well, as he had not seemed impressed by the room.

"TROUBLE?" Seifer didn't turn around.

"Yeah. Caraway." The two became more than a little worried at this. They didn't like it when Seifer got paranoid. When he got paranoid, bad things happened.

"What about Caraway? He's in jail, ya know?"

"Yes, but for some odd reason, I get the feeling he's playing us. Someone who has their army demolished and captured by the enemy shouldn't be so calm or confident. Something is wrong in this picture." It made sense. Maybe he did have a right to be paranoid. Still, after the exhausting day, the two just really wanted to relax. It wasn't the time to be pessimistic, and they couldn't rest if their best friend was just that.

"BLUFF?"

"Yeah, maybe he's trying to use reverse psychology on us, ya know?"

"No. I thought of that but…it wouldn't do him any good. He, well everyone, knows that Squall is headstrong. Once he makes up his mind, there's no changing it. Caraway trying to bluff his way out of prison is futile, and he knows it. I think…no, I know, he's hiding something."

"PLAN?"

"Whatever he's hiding, I have no doubt it's in Deling, most likely somewhere in those sewers. But we've already looked. It doesn't do any good. So I think we should stay here for a while and help out, gathering information. If Caraway has an ace in the hole, he can't use it unless he gets out. And we'll make sure that doesn't happen." The two nodded. "Sooner or later, we're going to find out what he's up to. I swear it."

* * *

><p>She tossed over in bed and glanced at the alarm clock. 3 a.m. She crept into a fetal position, pulling the cover closer to her face. It wasn't the comfort she wanted, but it was something. No, the comfort she wanted was busy dedicating every essence of his being to Garden. The perfect SeeD. It wasn't fair, to either of them. She knew he'd rather be with her. But his duty comes with a price. This wasn't what he deserved. He had given more to Garden than arguably anyone, and yet there was still always more to do. And in retrospect, it wasn't just Garden. It was everything. Who saved the world AGAIN in the last 24 hours? Squall. He really needed a break, before he broke, and she knew it.<p>

A few minutes later, the door opened, her knight finally done for the night. Rinoa sat up in bed to silently let him know she'd waited up for him. She knew, or at least hoped, that he appreciated those small gestures. He stumbled over to the desk adjacent to the bed, and sat down. His breathing was heavy, and his eyes droopy. Not even the legendary SeeD could hide this magnitude of exhaustion. He offered Rinoa a smile, then tried to kick off his boots, to no avail. She returned the smile, and sat on the edge of the bed, lifting up his legs from the chair, removing his boots. The fact that he didn't protest was a testament to his fatigue.

"You okay?"

"I guess," was all he replied. Uh-oh. The one terrible symptom that always accompanied fatigue with Squall was irritability, and it was already slightly showing. He remained sitting in a bent over position in the chair, his head down, pondering. Rinoa gazed at him from the bedside.

"Squall…"

"You know," he began, trying to find words. "I recall the moment I was first appointed commander by Headmaster Cid. I said something to the effect of 'there's no such thing as fate'". A flustered grin found its way to his face. "Funny thing, I'm starting to believe in it."

"Why?"

"Rin, no matter how hard I try, no matter what the hell I do, it seems like I keep having to solve the world's problems. I didn't want any of this…except you, of course." This annexed statement stirred a joyous butterfly tingling in her stomach. "But I mean, I didn't want to be commander. I didn't want to be the 'Legendary SeeD'. I just wanted to be…me." He placed his elbows on his knees, and used his hands to support his head, succumbing to his inevitable weariness. "And what really pisses me the hell off is, I can always, somehow, some way, solve every fucking problem the world throws at me, but, and I don't know if it's my failure, or fate, or whatever, I can't ever help you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, once again, I defeated an army. I captured a rogue president. Blah blah blah. But the one thing I actually wanted to accomplish yesterday was to help you. Why the hell else would I go to Esthar? But no. It just doesn't work. Ever." A single tear rolled down his cheek. Her heart began to ache at this sight. Not once had she ever, ever seen him cry. And though it wasn't what he was trying to imply, she felt responsible. Yesterday, she, like the world, had thrust her problems upon him. And he, like always, tried to solve it. Standing up, she walked behind the chair and began to massage Squall's neck, hoping to relieve some tension.

"Squall…I really wish I knew what to say. I guess, life is just weird sometimes. No matter how hard we try, it seems like we always get drawn into the same circle, right? Maybe, it's not the circumstances that are circular, though. Maybe it's just us." She felt his shoulders tense at this.

"What does that mean?" He turned around and stared at her.

"I mean, some situations are just inevitable. Regardless of our actions, a sorceress would've tried to destroy the world. Regardless of our actions, all of the world's problems occur. But maybe it's not the world thrusting them on us. Maybe it's the fact that we take it upon ourselves to consistently attempt to help. Maybe it's because, deep down, we know we can make a difference, and we want to. It gets frustrating sometimes, no doubt. But in the end, would you have wanted it any other way? Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't been promoted to Commander? Or if you hadn't led the fight against Ultimecia. Maybe it's fate, maybe it's not. But I do know that the world is a better place because of all of us, especially you." He smiled sincerely for seemingly the first time today.

"I'll take your word for it. Rinoa…" He looked back down.

"Yes?"

"I know this may not be the best timing but, tomorrow, let's go back to Esthar."

"What? Why?"

"Odine said he had a possible solution, remember? We never got to finish what we started because of Galbadia." Rinoa looked down.

"But Squall, with all that's happened in the past day, shouldn't we wait a bit? Isn't there official business to take care of?"

"Rinoa, for my entire life, I've dedicated so much of myself to Garden. Right now I truly just want to dedicate myself to you. The world has problems. Let it thrust them on someone else for a change," he replied. Her face turned red at the sweet remarks. She still felt the need to protest, as there was a lot of work to do, but she knew he wouldn't rest easy until he had helped her.

"Okay, deal. But first, you need some sleep, commander!" He started to get up, and seeing the slight struggle, she assisted him into bed. Curling up beside him, she decided she might as well enjoy the rest of the night.


	14. The Theory of Sorceresses

_**The Theory of Sorceresses**_

The last time they were here, Galbadia attacked Garden, almost initiating a world war. The time before the last time they were here, Galbadia commandeered Lunatic Pandora and tried to wreak havoc. Hopefully this time, Galbadia could allow them the peace to actually accomplish a personal goal for once. Nonetheless, here they were, entering the laboratory of the most renowned scientist in the world: Dr. Odine. Though his morals were at times questionable, it was impossible to deny his genius. Without him, it is possible that Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, and Zell would be dead, and Garden would be history. Hopefully, his genius could prove useful once more.

Despite his astute intellect, he was rather surprised to see them.

"Ah, velcome. Ah, so vat do you vant zis time?"

Rinoa stepped up, slightly bashful. The way he posed his question implied that they were intruding, something that she especially didn't like to do. But there was no point not to ask now; they had already come all the way to Esthar.

"Hi, Dr. Odine! Um, last time, you said you might know of a way to suppress my sorceress powers. We never got to finish this because of the…uh…Galbadia problem." Odine's eyes lit up, and he began jumping up and down.

"Ah, yes! Seet down. I vill explain. First, let me get Laguna and ze others in here as vell."

Squall, without realizing, placed his hand on his forehead, signaling frustration. Why the hell did Laguna have to be there? This was not his problem. It was theirs. Rinoa noticed his demeanor change, and placed her hand on his shoulder for comfort. He looked over to her, and weakly grinned.

* * *

><p>Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, the Presidential convoy arrived. Laguna had no idea why Odine wanted to see him, but it's not like he had anything better to do. Well, besides run the most technologically advanced nation in the world, who just so happens to be dealing with a monster invasion. But, that could wait, right?<p>

As soon as the three entered, they noticed Squall and Rinoa. Immediately, their thoughts raced to the pessimistic. Last time they saw each other, a world war almost started. The time before that, they had to time travel and fight an all-powerful sorceress. What happened this time?

"Seet down. I vill explain." The trio did as ordered. "So, these two came to me vith ze issue of vanting to suppress ze sorceress' powers." Without missing a beat, Laguna interrupted.

"Wait, tell me you're NOT considering entering a cryogenic state at Sorceress Memorial again! I won't permit it, Rinoa…"

"NO!" Squall interrupted. Damn, Laguna jumped to such illogical conclusions sometimes.

"Oh, uh, okay," he replied in a low volume, embarrassed at his own outburst.

"NOW ZEN," Odine began again, frustrated that he had been deferred, "as you all know, I have studied sorceresses and magic my entire life. Recently, I have formed a new scientific theory regarding zis matter. If it iz true, zen it may be possible to suppress ze powers of ze sorceress vithout a cryogenic slumber." Rinoa's mind went in full alert. She would learn whatever it is he was about to explain, no matter how difficult.

"So first, ve begin vith the origin of ze sorceresses."

"What?" Everyone turned to Laguna once more. "Isn't that something we already know? They are descendants of Hyne, right?" Odine's face went blood red.

"ZAT IS A CHILD'S STORY, NOT SCIENCE! Let me ask you something. Do you believe in magical elves?"

Laguna thought about this for a moment. "Um, well, I don't know. I suppose not."

"Vhy not?"

"Well, I've never seen them."

"Or heard them," Kiros furthered.

"Or sensed them in any way," Squall continued, knowing full well where this was going.

"Exactly! Vell, have you ever sensed Hyne in any vay?"

"Well, no, but," Laguna started, but Odine interrupted this time.

"Zen it vould be hypocritical to believe zat story. Ze only evidence for both Hyne and magical elves is folklore and books! There iz a difference between religion and science. I vill stick vith science, as it vill help us in zis case. So for now, discount ze idea of Hyne. I vill explain some biological concepts as background to vhat I am talking about."

He walked over to the large computer panel housed in his laboratory and brought up some illustrations. Squall recognized the pictures immediately, and knew where this lecture was going to go. Garden made students take general education courses such as math and science in addition to fighting and military strategy. Squall, in his attempt to be the best he could be, never got anything less than an A, and always remembered the material after the course. This was going to be a lecture on genetics.

"So, let me ask you a question. Vhat determines you?"

"What determines…me?" Laguna was confused at the question.

"Yes. Vhat you look like, your body composition, et cetera?"

"Your DNA," Squall replied confidently.

"Yes! Something physical about you iz called a 'trait'," he began. "For example, your hair color, hair shape, ratio of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers, eye color, and so on. Now, how do you get zese traits?"

"From your genes, from your parents," Kiros answered. He felt like this was high school all over again, and surprisingly, was welcoming. It beat the stress of running a country.

"Yes. Let's discuss how zese genes form 'you'. First, zere are two forms of every gene, called an 'allele'. Depending on how zese allels are expressed, you may look a variety of different vays. Ven you are created, ze DNA of your parents combine in certain vays. You inherit chromosomes from your parents. If everything goes right, you vill have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Each pair of chromosomes determines your traits, so to speak. Ze two types of alleles for each trait are called dominant and recessive."

He pressed a button on the computer screen, and another picture popped up. Squall recognized it instantly.

"Zis is called a Punnett Square. Ve can determine ze probability of certain traits occurring in you vith certain allele combinations. For zis example, ze allele for brown eyes is dominant. Suppose both of your parents are heterozygous, meaning zey have one dominant allele, and one recessive allele. Keep in mind zat you will receive exactly ONE allele from EACH parent. Zen zere are four possible combinations. You can get two dominant alleles, one from each parent, meaning you vill have brown eyes. Zis is called homozygous dominant. There are two cases in which you receive one dominant allele and one recessive allele. In other vords, you vill be heterozygous like your parents. In zis case, ze dominant genes take over, so vill again have brown eyes. Finally, you could receive two recessive alleles. In zis case, you vill not have brown eyes. It is called homozygous recessive. So vat is the probability you vill have brown eyes?"

"Seventy five percent," Rinoa answered, paying close attention. She still didn't see how this helped, though.

"Excellent! I see you understand. Let's cover another example, though, just to make sure. Suppose one parent iz homozygous dominant, but ze other iz heterozygous. Zen vat iz the probability you vill have brown eyes?"

"One hundred percent. There's no way to receive two recessive alleles," Kiros answered.

"Good. Okay, you have zis material covered. Let's move on. Natural selection. Anyone vant to summarize?"

"The strongest survive, but the weak shall perish," Squall responded. A chill ran up Rinoa's spine hearing this. It wasn't the theory that bothered her, just Squall's wording of it. Did he have to put it so…coldly?

"Yes. Basically, ze goal of a species is to survive and reproduce. In certain environmental conditions, something happens called a mutation. For example, consider a lizard living in ze desert. Abyss Worms feed on lizards, so lizards need to be able to hide. So, vat happens is eventually, a mutation might occur. Suppose out of a thousand lizards born, one is born vith ze color needed to blend in vith its surroundings. So, no Abyss Worms eats ze lizard. It survives, and via genetics, spreads its color to its offspring. However, many of ze lizards zat did not have ze color vill be eaten. After several generations, zis problem stabilizes. Zere vill be very few lizards zat did not have ze color due to predation, but ze lizards zat do have ze color to hide vill be ze majority of ze population. In other vords, as Squall said, the veak perished, but ze strong survived."

"Okay, I appreciate the biology lecture, Odine, but how does this help our problem?" Squall interrupted. This was getting ridiculous. He already knew all of this; he just wanted to help Rinoa. Then, it hit him.

"Wait...," he massaged his temples with his hands, thinking. "Your theory…you think that Sorceresses are not descendants of Hyne. You think Sorceress powers were a mutation born out of necessity, and then it became genetic, right?" Odine beamed, thoroughly impressed.

"YES! Very good!" Rinoa became completely speechless. She didn't know what to say or do. A thousand questions raced through her mind. So she was a mutation?

"Um, Odine? I'm not sure I follow. What kind of 'environmental factor' would necessitate something like that?" Laguna asked. Even Kiros was stumped.

"I think I know," Squall claimed. "Lunar Cry, right?"

"You know, I have never said zis to anyone before, but you vould make a decent scientist. Yes, a Lunar Cry." This time, Kiros had to interject on this theory.

"But didn't the first Lunar Cry happen eighty years ago? There have been documented sorceresses before that, as Squall and the gang even fought some of them during Time Compression. Plus, even if there weren't, I doubt enough generations would pass in eighty years for something like this to occur."

"Zat iz not correct. Ze Lunar Cry has happened for thousands of years. Ze one eighty years ago vas famous because it vas ze one responsible for the destruction of ze Centra civilization. Ze phenomena is essentially ze mirror image of tides. During some parts of ze day, ze moon is closer to Earth. As a result, ze gravity is higher, causing ze tides. During some parts of ze moon's revolution, it iz very close to ze Earth. Research indicates zat zis time coincides vith the moon's monster population becoming unstable, it becomes vay too saturated. Because of ze intense gravity, ze monsters fall to Earth. Zat iz ze Lunar Cry."

"Then what about the Crystal Pillar? Wasn't that needed to cause the Lunar Cry?"

"You are close. It does not cause ze Lunar Cry, per se. Ven ze Lunar Cry occurs, ze monsters vill fall to wherever ze Crystal Pillar is."

"But then what about the recent events?"

"Zat vas a special case. Even I did not predict it. You see, long ago, Tears' Point vas determined to be ze most likely place for ze Lunar Cry to occur. So, Tears' Point was constructed and equipped with a ground energy field to deflect the energy field created by ze Crystal Pillar, thus stopping ze Lunar Cry. Theoretically, it vould have worked. Even if ze Crystal Pillar vas directly over Tears' Point, according to my calculations, nothing should have happened. Ze problem vas," Odine stopped to catch his breath for a moment, and Squall took the opportunity to complete his sentence.

"Lunatic Pandora."

"Yes," he answered slowly. "You see, during Adel's reign, we excavated ze Crystal Pillar, and I became aware at an early stage of its purpose. Adel vanted to utilize it as a weapon of war. So she made me construct ze Lunatic Pandora. When the magnetic field of ze Crystal Pillar combines vith ze electric field of ze Lunatic Pandora, it can cause a Lunar Cry. This enormous power overwhelmed ze ground electric field at Tears' Point and rendered them useless. Combined with ze fact zat ze Lunar Cry is most likely bound to happen there, it just became a sure thing."

"Yeah, Adel and Odine actually used Lunatic Pandora to trigger a small Lunar Cry about seventeen years ago as a test run," Kiros explained. "We were filming a movie in Trabia, and out of nowhere, a bunch of Ruby Dragons just showed up. After we defeated a few, we noticed a large object in the distance. Turns out it was Lunatic Pandora. If you go to that area now, you can actually see the large crater that it caused."

This jogged Squall's memory. "Yeah, I remember going to that area a few times while Nida was piloting Garden. There was a large crater, and something interfered with the Garden's systems, so we couldn't pass over it."

"Yes. Anyvays, so my theory is zat a Lunar Cry prompted ze need for a sorceress."

"Okay, but, how would that work? It defies the genetics stuff we just covered." Rinoa inquired. "Only women can be sorceresses, right? But not every woman is a sorceress. This means that all women are heterozygous, and men are homozygous recessive, right? So…I'm confused."

"Actually, you are incorrect. Men are not homozygous recessive. They do not have ANY alleles for sorceress powers vatsoever."

"Okay…then how can a woman be a sorceress?"

"Zis is vere ze theory comes into play. Indeed, from research, I have found zat women are heterozygous for ze sorcery trait. But of course, zen it vould be impossible for any woman to be a sorceress. Now, what is the primary component of being a sorceress?"

"Adept magical skills," Squall replied confidently.

"Exactly. Now, can anyone use magic at any time?"

"Only a sorceress. You'd have to be junctioned to a GF."

"Exactly. You know your stuff, eh? GFs naturally have the ability to use magic, unlike humans. This is vhy we must junction to zem to be able to do so. So my theory is this. During some Lunar Cry, a woman who was heterozygous and junctioned to a GF was trying to fight ze monsters. Quickly, she and ze GF realized that it would not be enough for them to fight together, so something unusual happened: they made an agreement of some sort and fused into one being. It took on the form of the human woman, but it had natural magical abilities. She vas ze first sorceress. Ze sorceress vas more powerful than if ze woman and GF remained unfused. But, zis combination altered ze sorceress' DNA structure. Instead of being heterozygous, she vas now homozygous dominant for ze sorcery trait. Now, ven she had a child, vat happened?"

"Well, the mother is homozygous dominant, and the father is homozygous recessive, so the child is heterozygous. So they wouldn't be a sorceress?" Laguna guessed.

"No. I said a minute ago, men are not homozygous recessive. Zey have NO alleles vatsoever. So, when a daughter is born, she receives certain chromosomes from her mother. But for that particular trait of sorcery, she receives no allele from her father, meaning she inherits BOTH of ze alleles for sorcery from her mother. So vat is ze probability zat ze daughter of a sorceress is also sorceress?"

Rinoa gasped. She felt as if the entire world was going to crumble around her. Surely, this couldn't have…that implication, right? "Um…one…hundred percent?" she guessed.

"Precisely."

"So…if I have a daughter…she will be a sorceress?"

"If ve cannot suppress your powers, zen yes, she vill be." Both Squall and Rinoa looked down. Neither knew what to say. Both wanted to comfort the other, but didn't feel compelled in the present company. They both made the subconscious decision to do so later.

"So, does that mean…I was a sorceress the entire time?"

"Yes. It vas not ze case zat Edea 'passed on' her powers to you. It vas simply zat Ultimecia possessed you. Many women go their entire lives without knowing zey are a sorceress. It is likely you vould have never known if those events did not occur."

"Odine, reverting back to the original problem, how could this help us suppress Rinoa's powers?"

"Vell, zere are a few possibilities. One, if ve could determine vat GF ze original sorceress fused vith, ve could try to have ze current sorceress unjunction. Zere is a few problems vith that method, however. First, it could be ze case zat MULTIPLE sorceresses came about in this way. Second, ve do not know vat exactly happened to ze GF ven ze original sorceress or sorceresses passed avay. It is likely ve vill never know."

"Then what do we do?"

"Ehh…I am still in ze process of figuring zat out."

* * *

><p>Another twenty minutes passed without a sound. Well, except for Odine pushing buttons on his control panel. The entire room had just relearned everything they <em>thought<em> they knew about sorceresses.

Squall, in particular, thought about the implications it would have on Garden. If this is true, all textbooks would have to be rewritten. SeeD might have to change its strategy for combatting future sorceresses. Wait, future sorceresses? His and Rinoa's daughters would be sorceresses! He wouldn't allow Garden to fight against his daughters! Wait a minute, his daughters? He and Rinoa weren't even married yet. Was it…appropriate to be thinking about kids? Did he even want kids? Ahhh! This was just so confusing.

"Dr. Odine," somebody terminated the silence. It was Rinoa. "This may be a dumb question, but how did you become so intelligent?"

"Questions are precisely ze answer." He didn't even bother turning away from his control panel.

The young sorceress became entirely puzzled. Was this a metaphor of some sort? "Huh?" Finally he turned around, placing his hands behind his back.

"I do not vant zis to become some inspirational speech, but basically, you grow based on vhat kind of questions you ask. True, ze more questions you ask, and answer, the more you learn. But, ze type of questions you ask are also important. Zey facilitate learning. Now, vat is ze most important question to ask?"

Squall knew the answer. In this past hour, he obtained a newfound respect for this strange little man, as it turns out their thought processes were very similar. "Why."

"Yes! Let me give you an example, eh? Suppose you take an introductory math course. Zey teach you Pythagorean Theorem, right? Zen zey give you fifty problems to do where you plug numbers into the formula. But, why is Pythagorean Theorem true?"

"I…don't know," Rinoa admitted, turning red.

"Exactly. It vasn't like people just made zis stuff up. There is a _reason_ it's true. Once you realize ze _reason_ it's true, you can answer a wider variety of questions, even those that you couldn't answer _just _knowing the formula. Plus, it invokes a great deal of creativity vithin you. In ze past hour, we covered _vhy _you look like what you look like, _vhy _people are sorceresses, and more. And using this, ve vere able to come up with an entirely new theory on sorceresses altogether. Similarly, ve must question everything. Laguna vould have never seen another side of zis story if he blindly accepted that _Hyne _story for the rest of his life." This time, it was Laguna to turn red and lower his head.

"Wow, I never thought like that before. I…um…thank you, Dr. Odine." The doctor simply nodded and got back to work. Thanks to this possibly immoral man, she had an intellectual epiphany like no other. She'd follow his advice accordingly, and hopefully, solve any and all problems she ever faced.

* * *

><p>Needless to say, the two did not spend the night in Odine's laboratory, nor did they take the trouble to fly Ragnarok all the way back to Garden. Luckily, Laguna was president, and so they stayed in the palace. The rooms were quite extravagant. Every room had a double-king size bed, a refrigerator, microwave, a technologically advanced form of a television, and an office area. In addition, every room had a balcony, which was where the couple was at the moment.<p>

The view was simply astonishing. The blue city shimmered in the darkness; they could see for miles. Despite all of the lights, the stars and the full moon glistened brilliantly in the sky above. The weather was cool; it was a perfect night. Unfortunately, Rinoa had taken a lot from Odine's talk earlier. Probably more than she should have.

"Squall?" The commander shifted his focus from starwatching to face his girlfriend. He looked her in the eyes, and nearly lost his breath. The stars were beautiful, sure, but her eyes were simply..._magnificent_. It was if there was an entire infinity of stars within her eyes. He would have no problem with never eating, sleeping, or training again if he could spend the rest of his life gazing into them.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering. Well, there's a reason for everything, right?"

"Kind of. Why?"

"Well, what's the reason for…love?" Squall became concerned at this question. He wanted to proceed cautiously. Pissing off his girlfriend, who carefully monitored his every word, was not something he wished to do tonight. Or ever, for that matter.

"If I recall from biology correctly, dopamine, a neurotransmitter, is responsible for love." Rinoa giggled, placing her hands over her mouth. "What?"

"Odine was right. You really _could_ be a scientist."

"Whatever," he crossed his arms and looked to the side. He was thankful for the compliment, but couldn't stand the thought of ending up like Odine. Hell no. "Rinoa, why ask something like that?"

Her expression became more serious, a hint of worry betraying her gorgeous face. "I just…well, what if the only reason we love each other is because our _dopamine_ tells us that right now? What if five years down the road, our dopamine changes, and that love is gone?" Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. She couldn't stand to think about something like that.

Squall pulled Rinoa into a tight embrace, then looked her in the eyes again, his arms resting on her shoulders. "Look, Rinoa. Odine is a genius, but you can't take _everything _he says at face value. Not _everything _ has a _reason_. Some things are just…true."

"Like what?"

"Well, let's go back to Odine's example: math. It is true that just about everything in math can be proven. But even math has axioms."

"Axioms?"

"Things that can't be proven. Like a plus b equals b plus a, the commutative property of addition. It can't be proven; it's just logically true."

"Okay, but you just said love _did _have a reason!"

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. That doesn't mean there _needs_ to be a reason. I know I love you, and that's all that matters. What happens in five years, happens in five years. Like axioms, some things are just _meant _to be true. Like us." He offered her a smile, and kissed her forehead. Rinoa's doubts were now completely cleared. He was right; she loved him, and nothing else matters. If something changes, at least they gave it their best shot.

"I love you, too, Commander Leonhart." He put her arm around her, and together, went back to watching the stars.

A/N: If you're good with science, you may have realized a hidden implication. Please don't spoil it for others.


	15. Training

_**Training **_

"C'mon Squall, you can tell me!" The martial artist was gulping down hot dogs, eager to hear of his colleague's problem. The commander sat on the other side of the table, head down with his hands in his lap. Squall had agreed to have lunch with Zell, but seemed a bit more down than usual, and hadn't even touched his lunch.

"Dude," he said, before taking a drink of water to wash down the hot dogs, "if you don't tell me, I can't help ya."

Squall sighed, then reluctantly began. "Well, we woke up this morning in Esthar. And she didn't seem like herself."

"Okaaaay. How so?" He swallowed another one, whole.

"Well usually, she kisses me good morning, or does something sweet or cheerful. This morning, she was just quiet. I told her I loved her, and she replied with 'Oh, thanks'. When I asked her if something was wrong, she slapped me! I don't get it, I mean, last night, everything was just fine. Today, it's like Ultimecia possessed her again."

A huge grin formed on Zell's face, and he fought the urge to laugh. "Chill, bro. She'll be okay in a few days."

His friend looked confused. "How do you know? Did she tell you something?"

"Squall, out of all the classes you took, none of them ever covered female anatomy?"

"No. What the hell does female anatomy have to do with anything? And why the hell are you giggling? I'm not in the mood, Zell," he said, face beginning to burn. Indeed, he was exhausted, mentally and physically. At this point, he wished he could just cast a sleep spell on himself and wake up a week from now.

"Okay, first of all, calm down, I'm trying to help. Look, females go through this thing once a month. You may have heard of it, it's called a period."

"Oh, that. You mean she's going to be like this every fucking month?"

"Whoa, whoa! Language buddy. And yep, it comes with the territory. Relationships are for better or for worse, ya know? Are you telling me she hasn't had another period since you've known her?" He shoved another hot dog into his mouth.

"Zell, I've known her for less than a month." Zell chewed slowly, thinking about this, then chugged some water.

"Oh, shit. Dude, it seems like so much longer with everything that's gone on. It's hard to believe all that sorceress stuff occurred over a period of like a week or two. And it's been two weeks since then, so yeah, you're right, you have known her for less than a month. That's some teenage romance shit right there!" He started chuckling.

"Language, buddy," the commander mocked. "But, you do have a point. Being with her is…worth it, I guess."

"You _guess_?"

"Well, I'm not used to this sort of attitude with her, but, I care about her. So, yeah, it's worth it."

Swallowing the last hot dog on his plate, the martial artist replied. "Good to hear, man! So what's on your plate today?"

Squall looked down at his uneaten plate of food. "Not that, dude! I mean what're your plans for today?"

"Oh," he looked back up. "Actually, I'm going to go speak with Seifer in a minute." Zell's face got serious.

"Yeah, dude, what the hell is up with that? Nobody ever told us anything. Were you keeping something from us? Why can we trust this asshole?"

"He saved your lives. Isn't that enough?"

"The hell? No. No it isn't. He's not in control of Galbadia anymore. How do you know he's not trying to get in your good graces just to get back into Garden? OR, how do you know Seifer isn't working for Caraway?"

"What do you mean? He helped capture Caraway," he waved his right hand.

"C'mon, Squall, don't be naïve. Seifer shows up out of nowhere, Galbadia attempts another takeover, and now both the current and former leaders of Galbadia are within Garden. Plus, Caraway looked rather smug, like he expected this outcome. How do you know this wasn't some elaborate setup to get inside Garden?" The commander considered this. It made logical sense, but, he didn't want to believe it. If he acted on suspicion like this, it'd be no different than his Garden colleagues, and they all saw how that turned out. Until Seifer actually gave them a reason not to trust him this time around, there was no reason not to accept his assistance.

"I can't say that isn't the case, but, whatever his motives, we need his help. And I doubt Caraway expected to have his plans thwarted on national television by a hundred me's. For the leader of what's trying to be the most powerful nation in the world, that's a bit embarrassing. I understand your point of view, but he's proved useful twice now." Zell's eyes bulged.

"TWICE? I only know of one. Squall, you better not be keeping stuff from us. _We're _your friends, remember?"

"Of course, Zell. I'm not keeping stuff from you. I'm acting in your and Garden's best interest. If there's any reason not to trust him, believe me, I'll find it."

Zell let out an audible sigh. "Alright, man. After all we've been through, I'd be a fool to question your judgment now. Just, please, don't break that trust." With that, the martial artist got up, pushed in his chair, and walked off.

'Why can't things ever be simple?'

* * *

><p>It was a bit past 1:00 in the afternoon, and Seifer was pacing back and forth in front of the window. Fujin was reading a magazine at the desk, and Raijin was laid back watching the television.<p>

"What's up, Seifer? You don't look well, ya know?" Raijin sat up in bed, muting the television with the remote. Fujin looked up as well, putting the magazine down.

"Just trying to…figure it out."

"The Caraway thing again? Until we go down into the sewers, we might be wasting our time, ya know?"

"Perhaps. But, it helps to be prepared. If we have at least a ball-park guess as to what is down there…"

"DANGER."

"Exactly. Plus, I still get that sneaking suspicion Caraway is playing us somehow. He looked way too cool to be a captive of SeeD. He has a history of being deceptive, and I just don't like it."

"Got'cha, ya know. So what about we run through everything we know?"

Seifer rubbed his temples. "That's what I've been doing for the past twenty four hours straight. I feel that this is one big puzzle, and to figure it out, we need all the pieces. We don't have them all yet. The sewer thing is way beyond our current scope, and even that is speculation. For all we know, there may be _nothing_ down there, and we're wasting our time. On the other hand, until we get more information as to what Galbadia's true ambitions are, we can't figure out why he seems like he_ wants_ to be here. Again, for all we know, it could be a bluff. Then all this thinking is much ado about nothing. It's enough to drive a person mad."

The posse nodded in agreement.

"True, but I think our thinking is on the right path, ya know? At least about the sewers."

"SUSPICIOUS."

"Yeah. I tried figuring out why he would need a hidden staircase to the sewers of all places in his very living room. I thought maybe, just maybe, it's because he's the general of the army. If the place was attacked, it'd make sense he needs an escape route. But, that doesn't answer why he goes down there every night, or why electronics are jammed. It doesn't add up." He slammed his fist down on the desk. "I feel, no, I KNOW, there's something down there." About this time, there was a knock on the door. Raijin jumped up to answer it.

"Oh, Squall. Good to see ya, ya know."

"You, too. Seifer?" The former Knight walked towards the door.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to talk. Up for a training center session?" Seifer put his hand on his hip and smirked.

"Up for getting shown up?"

"You can try," Squall narrowed his eyebrows. Seifer grabbed his Hyperion that was standing up against the wall, and walked towards his former enemy. "You guys are welcome to join, too."

Raijin and Fujin looked at each other.

"TIRED."

"Yeah, I think we'll pass, ya know?"

"Of course."

* * *

><p>The walk to the training center was completely silent. Not a word was exchanged between the two. The two understood each other without words, though. It's easier to talk after some battles. That was the way they were raised. When they reached the training center, that silence was finally broken.<p>

"How about we make it interesting?" the Knight proposed.

"What do you have in mind?"

"One hour time limit. Grats are worth two points, T-Rexaurs are worth 15. Whoever has the most points at the end of the hour wins."

"You're on!" They both began sprinting into the monster's area as quickly as possible. They immediately came upon a family of grats hanging around. Seifer casted a firaga spell to spread them apart, and Squall charged forward, lunging his gunblade. Before the grat could turn around, it was impaled. Seifer took his own offensive, focusing on speed rather than the power that Squall was exerting with his thrusts. He whipped around in a flurry of slashes, chopping off grats' tentacles, ending their lives instantly.

After about a minute, the family of grats was history. The score was now Squall 6, Seifer 10, pointwise.

"You're slacking, puberty boy!" the knight teased.

"Still got fifty nine minutes to go. Don't count your chickens before they hatch!" They both kept jogging, trying to find another monster. Seifer was slightly ahead of Squall, when he came upon another group of grats. Before Squall could catch up, a T-Rexaur jumped out from behind some trees.

Seifer, not wanting Squall to get that kill, decided to end the grats quickly by casting an Ultima spell. Seifer 18, Squall 6.

Squall, having anticipated Seifer's speed, junctioned Death to his status attack. With one hit from the Lionheart, the dinosaur was gone, Seifer running over to try to get his own offensive initiated.

"Well, that was anticlimactic. How'd you do that?" The knight commented.

"Junctions," he grinned. "They may be a bit old school in a world concerned with stats, but they're useful. Oh, and I believe that's now me twenty one, you eighteen?"

"Yeah, yeah. Fifty five minutes to go!" he said before running off again.

* * *

><p>At the end of the hour, the score stood Seifer 68, Squall 66. Seifer had a bit more luck in encountering T-Rexaurs for the remaining 55 minutes.<p>

"Even after all that time, I'm still always a step ahead of you," he cockily smirked, while catching his breath.

"Not bad. You've improved. But note that you're the one gasping," the commander pointed out.

"Winning's winning."

"I guess."

"So," the former knight began walking towards a rock near the back of the training center, before sitting down. "What's up?" Now that they'd both gotten some exercise, it'd be easier to communicate with one another. Squall followed and sat down a few feet away on another rock.

"I was wondering if you had any more information."

"About?"

"Anything Galbadia related. What are their goals? What's Caraway's motives?"

"So you've been wondering, too."

Squall looked up, a bit surprised. "So, you don't have any information? What about in Deling? What all went down?"

"Oh, heh. Well, now that you mention it, there have been some interesting developments on the Caraway front. But, it really only leads to more questions."

"I don't care. Please, tell me," he began sounding exasperated.

"Chill, man. Don't get your panties in a bunch. Anyways, so I found out that Caraway has been acting pretty suspicious lately."

"You don't say," he retorted, sarcastically. Seifer rolled his eyes in response.

"ANYWAYS. Old Caramel-boy has a hidden passageway in his very living room that leads to the sewers."

"Yeah, I know. Quistis told me. And?"

"AND? That doesn't sound odd to you?" he raised his eyebrows for emphasis.

"He's the general of an army. Should his mansion come under attack, he would need an escape route," the commander casually explained.

"That's what I thought, as well."

"Thought?"

"It seems as though every night, Caraway goes down into the sewers. Once in the sewers, all electronics are jammed. It's very, very strange."

"I see. So, he's hiding something down there."

"That's my guess. But whatever it is is beyond me," he shrugged.

"Do you have any other information?"

"Nah. But the dude sure is acting strange, if you ask me."

"Agreed. He's too calm, too confident. I'd like to think it's a bluff, but…"

"Yeah. Anyways, where were you yesterday?"

"Esthar."

"Ah, visiting your papi, eh?" he teased.

"Shut up. No. I went to see Odine."

"Haven't you seen that freak enough? From what I've heard, every time you see him, something bad happens."

"That's…about the size of it."

"So, what'd you see him for?"

Squall remained silent, head down. He was clearly debating whether to discuss it or not.

"Don't tell me you still don't trust me," Seifer chimed in.

"It's not that. It's a bit personal."

"Oh, I see," he grinned. "Asking Odine to use some science to make you 'bigger' huh?"

"Sure."

"Alright, fine. I won't pry," he offered, still hoping his training partner would spill the beans.

"Let me ask you something, if you don't mind."

"Sure."

"Did you ever…communicate…with Ultimecia?"

"That bitch…"

The response shocked Squall a bit. He knew Seifer was in the process of repenting, but he didn't expect such strong antagonistic feelings towards his "romantic dream". After all, it'd only been like two weeks since that last battle.

"Well, that was…a bit complicated," Seifer began. "I never actually met her, since she only existed in the future. But she was able to give me orders by speaking in my head. Of course, when either Edea or Rinoa was possessed, I received orders via them. Why?"

"I was just wondering if she ever told you anything special about sorceresses."

"Hm," he rubbed his chin, pondering. "This have anything to do with Rinoa?" Squall didn't answer, keeping his head down. "So it does. Odine…the world's expert on sorceresses. I see."

"Seifer, I'm not trying to be rude, but,"

"It's none of my business, right?" He chuckled. "Got it. Change of subject then. What's our next course of action?"

"Don't know."

"You're the commander. You better know."

"Things are still settling down from the Galbadia shit. Since Caraway is our prisoner, we have to be on guard for possible retaliation. So, Garden will remain mobile. Other than that, I'm not sure where to go. If you're wondering, you're still welcome to stay."

"Gracias. Mind a suggestion, then?"

"Go ahead."

"Doesn't the formal process of holding a prisoner involve an interrogation?" an evil smile creeped onto his face.

_**Author's Note **_Wow, it's been so long since I updated! Thanks to everyone who is still reading. Since my last update, I've been a bit busy. I graduated college and have now been focusing most of my attention to pursuing my "romantic dream" of becoming a professional wrestler. Hopefully, the updates will come a bit more frequently, now.


	16. Love Hurts

_**Love Hurts **_

"Formally speaking, yes. We do have to conduct an interrogation soon. Why?" the SeeD commander asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to be the one to conduct it," Seifer replied, coolly cocking his head back.

Squall's eyes narrowed, and he took on a more deep, serious tone. "Out of the question."

Seifer fully expected this, but he was convinced he'd be able to persuade his rival. "Why not? What's the harm?"

"You're neither a SeeD nor a member of the administration. It is improper. SeeD has protocol for handling such situations," he answered, matter-of-factly.

"SeeD has a protocol for interrogating the captive president of one the world's most powerful nations?" he mockingly asked. "Really? Well aren't you guys just real thorough. Look, if you think Caraway is going to give up any information to you, you're sadly mistaken."

"And why is that? As I said, we have guidelines," he said, beginning to become frustrated. Honestly, this was one of the dumbest requests he'd ever heard. Even someone who had never attended Garden, or someone with common sense, should know that such a request was unreasonable. It was a bit of a stretch allowing Seifer back into Garden in the first place. Nobody was comfortable with him around after prior events. But now, he wanted to mingle in official Garden affairs? That was crossing the line.

"If you haven't noticed already, he's very confident, and very proud," he stood up, placing left hand on his hip, and raising his right for emphasis. "Also, as someone who's spent his entire life in politics, he knows there's nothing you can threaten him with to make him talk. If we killed or tortured him, the Galbadian army would crush SeeD."

"If he doesn't talk for me, he won't talk for you, either. So I don't see what your point is," he stood up as well, facing his rival.

"I know how to get what I want," he stated.

"And what is that, exactly?" Squall challenged.

"Same as you. Answers."

"Maybe you don't realize this, but the only person Caraway despises more than me is probably you."

"Yep. And why is that?"

"Um, let's see," he put a hand of his forehead trying to recall everything, "you assisted a sorceress who killed the former president of Galbadia, then took over Galbadia once the sorceress stepped down, and initiated a losing war on Esthar. Am I forgetting anything?" He removed his hand from his forehead.

Seifer chuckled. "Sounds about right. And that provides two routes that I could possibly take to get answers from him."

Squall stared blankly at him. Seifer stared back. The commander knew Seifer wanted him to ask what those routes were, and although he was curious, he knew it was irrelevant. Whatever the knight responded, Garden had its own protocol for this, plain and simple. No exceptions. Although he didn't want to give his rival the satisfaction of asking, he decided to humor him for now. Those routes may prove useful for whoever does conduct the investigation, most likely himself. It couldn't hurt to hear, he supposed.

"And…what might those routes be?" he asked, purposefully unenthusiastically.

"I could play a double-agent, for one." Squall immediately slapped his forehead with his palm. "Don't give me that shit, Squall. I'm being serious," he sounded offended at the reaction.

Squall didn't want to initiate a fight or lose Seifer as an ally, if he really was one. However, the past few moments had seemed incredibly childish. It was like a preteen asking his parents for a drink of beer, and using the rationale that one drink wouldn't hurt. The entire world was on edge right now, and the ball was in Garden's court to conduct an official investigation, and not only does Seifer desire to be over-involved in it, he wants to play games while doing so. It was maddening, but Squall knew he was backed into a corner. He definitely wouldn't allow Seifer to conduct the interrogation, but he would at least hear him out. This would appease him a bit…he hoped.

"Okay," he swallowed hard. "Let's hear it out." The knight grinned in response. Squall noted the grin. 'He thinks he's getting his way. How funny.'

"The common theme with all the bullshit I did was that I was on Galbadia's side the entire time. I could lead Caraway to believe I'm still on Galbadia's side, only infiltrating SeeD as a double agent to save his ass and obtain information."

'You wouldn't have to lead anyone to believe that. Everyone already does,' Squall thought.

"While that does sound very well thought out, I doubt it'd work. Even if he bought it, he's not about to blab out any secrets while in our custody. Route two?"

Seifer groaned in protest, clearly annoyed that his first idea was so quickly thrown out. "We use his hatred towards me. I piss him off or upset him until he loses his composure and says something incriminating or useful."

Squall mustered a quick laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"You pissing people off. I'd go with route two; you seem to be good at that!"

Seifer beamed. He actually took this as a compliment. Pissing people off and upsetting them to the point of losing composure gave him major advantages when his opponent was emotionally weak. It was one of his specialties, one of his secrets. Even against a formidable adversary like Squall, it proved useful. After all, that's how he gave the dear commander his scar.

"There _is_ an art to it, ya know. I take serious pride in my work," he took a couple paces to the side. Two SeeD cadets rushed by, having just escaped from a T-Rexaur encounter. One was a teenage boy, with blue eyes, and slightly longer than average blonde hair for a guy. The other was a girl of about the same age, equipped with a saber, and a bit brawny.

"Oh?" Squall feigned interest, rolling his eyes.

"Yup, lemme show you," he said, deciding to perform a demonstration. "HEY YOU!" he called to the two teenagers. They stopped about fifteen feet away, gasping for breath, and looked back inquisitively. "You know what's sad?" Seifer asked, putting on a very mocking face. "I can't tell which of you is the boy, and which of you is the girl! Seriously, get some damn testosterone blondie! And you, chica, lay off the protein shakes!"

Squall, for the umpteenth time in this conversation, slapped his forehead with his palm. The boy started sniffling, trying not to cry or embarrass himself in front of his female training partner. Squall stepped forward to apologize for the insult, when Seifer stopped him by holding up his index finger, signaling him to wait for a moment. Reluctantly, he backed down. Sure enough, the boy couldn't contain his tears, and the waterworks started flowing. The girl put her left arm around him for comfort, using her right to flip off Seifer, and they walked away.

"Was that necessary?"

"Yes. You see, the art of upsetting people begins by being observant. If you want to insult someone or hurt their feelings, you have to tell them something that they're already self-conscious about. If I mocked you, for example, by calling you lazy. Well, you wouldn't care, because you already know that's a lie. But, if I made fun of your teeth alignment on the other hand. Since you've only recently started smiling, you are self-conscious about it. That comment would probably make you smile less, because it got to you," he finished his explanation, proudly.

"So you've mastered the art of being a bully, basically," Squall retorted sarcastically. He felt like an entire minute of his life was wasted by hearing things that he already knew. Though, that did bring up a recent memory. "I do have to thank you, though."

"The hell?" Seifer looked a bit surprised. Where did that come from, all of a sudden?

"Over in Esthar, I fought a pretty powerful enemy, courtesy of Odine. Let's just say, it was my toughest opponent to date, and we fought to a stalemate. The only way I could think to win was by insulting him in battle and making him lose his composure. Sure enough, it worked."

Seifer grinned. "You're welcome. Remember back in Dollet, I told you you'd thank me when the time comes."

Squall crossed his arms and looked down, trying to recall the field exam. With everything that happened over the last month, remembering every little bit of dialogue was impossible. It did sound familiar, though.

Seifer remembered the important issue at hand. "So, you said route two, then?" He was confident he had him convinced now. Squall looked back up.

"No. Sorry." The knight's mouth dropped open a bit.

"What the hell? Why not?"

"Look, I told you," Squall's voice got serious and deep, "Garden has protocol, and it's not being broken."

Seifer's face turned blood red, and looked like he was about to blow. Squall decided to quickly appease the situation.

"Look, I know you want answers. So do I. Judging by our conversation, you seem to think something's hidden in the sewer, correct? I recall hearing from Quistis that her, Zell, and Selphie actually escaped Caraway's mansion by finding the secret entrance to the sewer. Since she spent a bit of a prolonged amount of time in the mansion, then travelled into the sewers, maybe she might have some insight as to what's down there. You should try talking to her."

The red in his face diminished, but he was still frustrated. "Yeah, like she's really going to talk to me!" he snapped.

"Zell won't talk to you. Probably neither will Selphie. But Quistis is logical and will act in the best interest of Garden. If she thinks you're sincere in your concerns, she'll hear you out."

Seifer at that moment wanted to give Squall a piece of his mind. Squall owed him, now. He gave him good information, and saved the day in Deling. And all he asked for, nobly, was to be the one to interrogate Caraway. And instead, the arrogant SeeD commander suggests speaking to a woman who failed as an instructor and hates his guts. Just great.

'We'll _definitely _solve the fucking mystery now,' Seifer thought to himself. Still, he knew he had to keep on Squall's good side to earn his trust. It killed him, keeping a silent tongue about something he was passionate about, but it was in his best interests to do so. Holding back a snarky remark, he simply said, "Fine."

* * *

><p>"Quite a weird couple of days, eh?" the cowboy attempted to make small talk. Following the events in Galbadia, Irvine had been doing a lot of thinking, and his normally jovial, flirty self had taken on a more solitary, quiet tone.<p>

"Definitely," Selphie replied, walking alongside him. They had just finished eating some lunch when Selphie decided she wanted to go to the library to check out some books. "But hey, isn't that what makes life interesting?"

Irvine grinned. "_Interesting_? That's not exactly how I'd describe this past month. More like, chaotic and something out of a science fiction movie."

Selphie had noticed his change in demeanor the day before and wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. She also wasn't sure which side of Irvine she liked better. She liked the cowboy's usual energy and infinite optimism and enthusiasm. He'd been there and supported her for nearly a month now, consoling her after the missiles hit Trabia, coming up with the idea and organizing the FH concert, and protecting her from many enemies in battle. He was always so "up". But on that same token, his flirtations weren't solely for Selphie. Although he did significantly more for Selphie than anyone else, it didn't stop him from trying to woo other women during casual conversations. Now, he'd laid off the wooing, but he was "down". She just didn't know how to feel, and she noticed her own energy had been drained while worrying about it. Languish definitely wasn't her forte, so she decided to speak up.

"Irvy?" she began, still looking forward while walking.

"Yes?" he looked over towards her, still walking beside her.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Whaddya mean?" he looked forward again. He wasn't exactly in the mood to talk about his feelings.

"You just don't seem like you, lately. C'mon! Cheer up!" she put a little more energy into her words, but it didn't have much effect.

"Sorry."

She stopped and looked him in the eye. They were in front of the training center now, along the circular hallway. He stopped as well

"Tell me what's wrong. Was it the Galbadia thing?"

He took a deep breath and rubbed his neck. "I mean, sort of. It's just…a bunch of things, Seph."

"Well, I'm all ears. For once, tee-hee," she offered a smile. He took another deep breath.

"I'm not sure you want to hear what I have to say." His eyes were narrowed and his face looked pained. It had been the biggest frown Selphie had ever seen him wear. It hurt her to see him like this.

"Ya know you can tell me anything! C'mon! Please?" she pleaded. He sighed another exasperated breath. A few SeeD cadets walked by, clearly trying to eavesdrop. They then proceeded to the training center.

"Okay, but, not here in the hallway. You wanna go somewhere more private? Your dorm perhaps?"

"Okie dokie!" she fist pumped the air. Now she would get answers. A few minutes later, and the door to Selphie's room shut behind them.

"Okay, now, tell me, tell me, tell me!" she pried, taking a seat on her unmade bed.

"I've been doing some thinking," he walked over to the window and looked out, hesitating.

"Yeahhhh?"

"I can handle a lot, ya know? I do pretty well under pressure. In fact, I've learned to thrive under pressure."

"Wellll, except for that Deling mission, Irv!" she teased. He didn't laugh back. He just kept staring out of the window. "Aw, c'mon! I'm only playing!"

"Look, I'm a bit exhausted, and I'm also an honest person, so since it's in the past, I'm going to come clean about that. But you keep it between you and me, okay?"

A puzzled look appeared on Selphie's face. "Um, okay?"

"I didn't crack under pressure. Since I hadn't junctioned a GF until then, I remembered Matron. I didn't want to shoot her. I was hoping Squall would remember when he got a good look at her from our vantage point. But he didn't. So I came up with the bullcrap about being under pressure."

Selphie remained silent.

"That's the only time I've been dishonest with you guys."

"I understand, Irvy. I don't blame you. It all worked out, anyway," she got up and walked over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "But this isn't what any of this is about, is it?"

"No. Like I said, I do very well under pressure. But there's just been so much pressure lately, it's overwhelming. The whole Sorceress-Lunar Cry-Lunatic Pandora-Garden War was pressure enough. But I never doubted us. I never doubted we'd come through it."

"So…what changed, then?"

"When we were held in G-Garden and told about our public execution. Never in years had I felt so helpless. I knew that if we wanted to, we could've busted out of there. Hell, D-District was more difficult than that would've been." Selphie nodded in agreement. "But, we couldn't do it because if we did, hundreds of innocent SeeDs would be killed. Their lives depended on us dying. And for me, I don't care. Sure, I want to live, but I've been alone my entire life. It wouldn't bother me so much if it was just me dying." Selphie realized where this was probably going. Irvine turned around from the window to address her.

"But I didn't want anything to happen to you guys. Especially you." Again, she remained quiet. She knew he had feelings for her. He always had. But she didn't want to commit to him just yet. Not while he constantly flirted with other girls. And not with all the world issues that kept popping up? What if he found someone else he liked, and on a whim, just dumped her? What if Galbadia invaded again and killed him just after she gave herself to him? Sure, they'd done some very x-rated things lately, just as friends, but it was to handle the stress they'd been feeling. While she'd like to believe there's more feeling to it than that, and she admitted that there is on her part, she didn't want to commit solely to him. Not just yet. But if she told him the truth, what would happen to their friendship? The sacred bond that they shared was something she definitely did not want to jeopardize.

"You honestly don't know how much I care about you."

"Irv," she started.

"No, please let me finish," he interrupted, holding up his hand. "Sure, we got out. We're fine. But it really made me realize how limited our time is. How anything could happen at any time that is beyond my control or ability to overcome. We can't always rely on Squall to save the day. There might come a day when he's not here either," he waved his arms.

Selphie shuddered at the thought. She really didn't like all the pessimism in the room at the moment. She didn't want to think about everything that could go wrong. She just wanted to focus her attention on everything that goes right. Subconsciously, she knew he was correct, though. More than a few people had called her "childish" as of late. Usually, she took negative words offensively. But she was proud of her childish nature. She thought more people should embrace their inner child. If they did, then they might be happier.

"I'm just gonna cut right to the chase. Seph, I want to be with you. I don't want my life's only purpose to help save the world and support SeeD, as cool as that may sound to some. If I were to go tomorrow, I want you to know how much I care about you. And I'd like to go knowing that at least you felt something similar for me."

A couple of tears ran down his face, the first time she'd ever seen him cry. Her heart melted witnessing this. She wished there was some way she could relieve his pain. But she couldn't. She knew the ball was in her court now. He'd just poured everything out to her, and it was her turn to respond. She didn't want to hurt him, but she also didn't want to end up hurt. Words didn't come easy to her, a very rare occurrence. Her eyes gathered tears as well. Regret found its way into her head. Suddenly, she wished she hadn't pestered him to talk about this. She knew this conversation would come eventually, but she was comfortable with prolonging it as much as possible.

"Irvy…", she searched for words. "Sometimes…," she sniffled, holding back tears, "sometimes life is too uncertain. I wish I knew what tomorrow brings." She sniffled again. "If something, Hyne forbid…if something were to happen, I want you to know that I feel the same way about you." She looked down, the tears finally flowing. Irvine kept a stern face, his eyes still shedding his own tears.

"Why do I sense a 'but' coming?"

"Irvy…I just…there's just too much going on right now. Life is like…a big game of chess, and all the pieces keep moving at once. I don't…I don't want to end up…hurt, ya know?"

"I'd never hurt you!" he quickly replied.

"You can't…make promises like that. I just…Irvy, please give me some time to think." They stared each other down for several moments. They both wanted to say more, but found themselves unable to do so. They both wanted the same things from each other, but there was this little mental road block preventing Selphie from giving it. The cowboy had enough sense to know that if he said anything more, it'd be incredibly counterproductive. He had to respect her wishes. His heart still beating, he regarded her with a tip of his hat, and walked out.

* * *

><p>Following his training session with Seifer, the commander returned to his room to find his girlfriend sitting on his bed, staring blankly at a wall. He placed the Lionheart next to his desk, and took a seat beside Rinoa. Hoping she'd initiate a conversation, as that sort of thing wasn't his area of expertise, he waited, joining her at looking at the wall. After several moments of awkward silence, he decided to give it a shot.<p>

"You bored?"

No reply. 'Perhaps she's in more of a physical mood?' He leaned in to give her a kiss, and she backed away, snarling. 'What's her – oh yeah.' He crossed his arms and looked down, remembering what Zell had told him earlier that day.

"It's okay, Rinoa. I understand," he attempted to console her. She raised an eyebrow in response.

"Oh?"

"I understand that there are certain times of the month that you may get a little…cranky. I'm willing to deal with it because I love you," he finished, quite certain he'd just resolved the entire situation. She was probably just looking for a little understanding, which he provided. But to his detriment, Rinoa's face turned blood red, and before he could ask if she was okay, he received a quick, thunderous slap.

"_**You. Freaking. Asshole**__._ So, whenever a woman has a problem, it has to be her_** fucking **_period,_** right**_? Because there couldn't _**possibly**_ be anything else wrong, _**right?**_ You men are just clueless. _**Absolutely **_clueless." She slapped her knees.

He'd never seen her this upset, and it hurt him that he couldn't be of more assistance. Immediately, he wished he'd never taken Zell's advice. She got up and went to walk out of the room, but he grabbed her hand.

"Rin, I'm sorry! I didn't originally think it was that, it's just that Zell said…"

"OH! So you told _**Zell **_about our personal problems, is that it? And Mr. Know-It-All Zell just _**happened **_to know the solution? Well isn't that dandy!"

At this point, Squall honestly didn't know what to do. SeeD training didn't include instructions for dealing with an upset girlfriend. And he'd made matters worse in less than one minute of talking. Apparently, whatever he said upset her today. It really did seem like she was on her period, but if she says it isn't, then he has no reason to not believe her. But what personal problems was she referring to? She wasn't making any bit of sense.

"Rin, please tell me then. What's the problem?"

She yanked her hand out of his grip and maintained a menacing glare, as if challenging him to figure out the answer.

"You were fine in Esthar last night," he continued, trying to reason with her. "What happened?"

"What happened? I'll tell you what happened!" she hollered. Little did she know, the hollering was attracting quite a crowd of eavesdroppers outside the door. Hearing the commander of SeeD and his girlfriend arguing was probably the best quality gossip you can get.

"I woke up this morning realizing I had to come back _here_!"

Squall was now bewildered, and he hoped he was just misunderstanding.

"Rin, here where? Here, Garden?" he gulped, his face reddening.

"YES!" There was a bit of a pause, before the conversation continued.

"Are you…," he searched for words, "are you saying you don't want to be here?"

She nodded, and he felt his heart drop.

"I don't understand. Where's this coming from?"

She crossed her arms, refusing to answer.

"_You're_ the one who asked to come here. You never expressed any grievances with the place before. What changed overnight? I honestly don't understand." His eyes pleaded with her to explain, but she wasn't giving any leeway.

"Selective memory, much? You let _Seifer_ back in! Do you not remember what he did the last time he saw me? He tried to sacrifice me to Adel!" she started crying.

"Rin…"

"Don't 'Rin' me! Look, Squall. He's given us no reason to trust him. Except you, apparently. Which means two things. You're hiding something from me, and you don't care to consult me about how I feel about such matters," she continued bawling, holding her chest with her arms.

He shook his head and stood up, debating whether to attempt to physically console her or not. She didn't seem to go for it earlier. Geez, he wished it was just her period. Why couldn't life ever be simple?

"I'm not _hiding_ anything. You never asked. And since when do I need to consult you about an official Garden decision?"

Her mouth dropped open, and she looked like she was about to go into a frenzy.

"So let me get this straight, _**dumbass**_. I'm just supposed to _**ask **_'Hey Squall, have you seen Seifer lately? Has he turned into a swell fellow?'? And what, I'm not a SeeD, so my opinion isn't good enough when making official decisions? That didn't seem to matter a couple of weeks ago!"

The crowd outside the door was starting to whisper amongst themselves. This was getting heated, and they wondered if they should back away from the door.

"Rinoa! What in the hell are you talking about? Look, Seifer came to me. He gave me some information about Galbadia. That was it! He saved our friends in Deling City. I simply returned the favor by providing him shelter. What's wrong with that?"

"What's _wrong_ with that!? I'll tell you what's _wrong_ with that! That guy's a psychopath who tried to kill me! But hey, since he did_ one_ good deed, that just erases all the bad ones, right?" She was now shouting at the top of her lungs. Squall was beginning to get infuriated. He was trying to be reasonable, and she just refused to listen.

"I'm acting in your and Garden's best interest! If I thought for one second Seifer was dangerous, I'd…"

She cut him off before he could finish.

"In _my_ best interest? I don't need anyone to act in _my_ best interest! You obviously don't know what my best interest is, seeing as how you let someone who tried to kill me sleep in the same building as me!"

"What the hell do you want me to do, Rinoa? Go back on my word, and be like 'Hey Seifer, my girlfriend is scared of you, please get out'?" He mocked.

"You're a jackass, Squall."

"I'm being reasonable!" he yelled back.

"Reasonable? This is supposed to be a relationship without secrets, and in which we care for each other. Right now, it seems like neither of those hold true."

"Oh for…RINOA! I care about you! I want to protect you! Seifer gave me information that could help Garden do just that. Why are you not seeing this?"

"_Garden. Garden. Garden_," she stomped, madly laughing. "You know, you weren't acting in _my_ best interest. You were acting in _Garden's_ best interest, _Commander_."

"They're essentially the same, Rinoa," he looked down, placing his right hand on his hip.

"OH REALLY? Because it seems to me like they're completely opposite!"

"What are you talking about now?" he sighed, frustratingly. Everything she mentioned in the past few minutes seemed to be more random and chaotic than every event that had happened over the past month. And that's saying something.

"Garden is supposed to oppose the sorceress. I am one. I may not be the most logical person in this damn building, but it doesn't take a logician to figure out that those two directly contradict each other."

"Oh for Hyne's sake, are we going through _this_ again? I told you before. SeeD will never act against you."

The chatter was getting quite loud outside the door, but neither participant in the argument could hear it. The many SeeD's and cadets took a special interest when SeeD's goals were mentioned.

"Ya know what, you still look confused. You like order, right? So how about I go in order of all the screw-ups you've made recently," she screamed, holding up her fingers to count as she listed. "You didn't tell me Seifer did anything justified, and then let him back into Garden after he tried to kill me. You assume that I'm on my period just because I'm upset, instead of actually asking me, as if that's some impossible undertaking. You insult my intelligence by calling me unreasonable. And you apparently tell Zell all about our personal lives. Am I missing anything?" she finished.

"Really? Really? You're going to list the things I've done wrong? Not even acknowledge the things I've done right? You know what," he was yelling at this point as well. "This is completely unlike you. You _are _on your damn period, and I know it now. You need some time to think and cool off."

Squall walked past Rinoa and went to go exit the room, but a fury lit up inside of her. This entire argument was one frustrating bit after another, and he didn't understand a damn thing she'd said. Even at the end of it, he was convinced that all of this was due to her damn anatomy. Unknowingly, she channeled her inner sorceress powers, and shot a massive thunder blast at Squall. The impact knocked him through the door he was about to open, which got ripped off its hinges under Squall's weight, startling every SeeD present, before they all scattered away. Shocked, but unhurt due to junctions, he got up to address his girlfriend. Before he could say anything, she walked by and muttered "Serves you right," before skipping off.

'A sorceress on a menstrual cycle. I'll take a Lunar Cry any day,' he thought while looking down at the mess he now had to clean up.

* * *

><p>The Headmaster was busy filing all the reports made by Squall and Xu concerning the recent turn of events. She didn't mind paperwork; she was probably the most organized person she knew. Paperwork sure beat making important Garden decisions, without a doubt. When Cid offered her the position, she was overwhelmed by ambiguous emotions. On one side, she felt honored and privileged that Cid had as much confidence in her abilities as he did.<p>

When Squall confirmed Cid's decision, it boosted her self-esteem even more. Throughout their entire journey, Quistis strongly desired to be noticed by Squall. She wanted her abilities to be known. Out of anyone she could have told about her instructor dismissal, she chose Squall. And her confiding in him only led to disappointment when he told her to "talk to a wall". She couldn't contemplate why she opted to tell him, of all people. At first, she regarded her feelings for Squall as romantic. But in all honesty, what could she ever see in Squall?

Sure, he was a great fighter, but what else was there? He wasn't responsible. He let his emotions cloud his judgment too frequently. Without notice to anyone in Garden, he left his commander position and took a comatose Rinoa to Esthar. When in space, he abandoned all senses to jump into nothingness to save Rinoa. Then he goes against an entire nation's decision by storming into Sorceress Memorial and freeing Rinoa. Sure, she couldn't blame him for these actions; love makes you do crazy things. And to be honest, she had a big say in convincing Squall to go to Sorceress Memorial in the first place. But, there were more diplomatic and politically feasible options available in each of those scenarios.

He definitely wasn't the most caring, at least not at the time. Rinoa changed him afterwards, but before, he was just so cold and quiet. He was very intelligent and hardworking, she'd give him that. But really, there wasn't anything redeeming about him from a romantic perspective. Once the orphanage epiphany surfaced, she realized that all this time, what she had been considering romantic feelings were actually just confused sisterly feelings. But was that really the truth?

After weeks of thinking, she finally realized what it was that made her so desperately seek Squall's approval. Quite simply, it was because he was the only one that _didn't _give it to her. They say you always want what you can't have, and she supposed that was true. Everyone in Garden idolized her. Hell, she even had a fan club dedicated to her. Headmaster Cid was so impressed by her talent, he granted her SeeDship at age 15, and instructorship at age 17, both unprecedented feats. But the only two that never showed her that respect or acknowledged her abilities were Squall and Seifer. She knew, subconsciously, that Seifer would never give her that respect. He was too loud, too arrogant, and too troubled. So she seeked out Squall's approval. And she was ecstatic when she'd finally gotten it.

On the other hand, when Cid made her Headmaster, she felt intimidated. Cid's shoes were quite big to fill, and for someone who had failed at being an instructor and "lacked leadership qualities", she didn't have the utmost confidence in herself. She did okay at first, and that confidence began to build, but the last Galbadia escapade completely demolished it. She had acted on assumption, then allowed every SeeD in Garden to be captured by Galbadia without even putting up a fight. Luckily, Squall arrived to save the day. Again. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this? Perhaps she did lack leadership qualities? This was why she was glad to have nothing but paperwork to do today.

As she contemplated all of this, she heard a knock on her door.

"Enter," she said. In walked the last person she expected to see during her shift today. 'Oh great. Well speak of the devil.'

"'Sup instructor?" Seifer asked, walking towards her desk. Quistis narrowed her eyes.

"What do you want? I'm in no mood for insults or games today," she asked, never taking her eyes off of him.

"Neither am I," he said, plopping down into the chair in front of her desk, raising his legs to rest them on the desk.

"Your feet. Off my desk. Now."

He did as instructed, grinning all the while.

"Why are you so disrespectful, Seifer? I just don't get it!" she said, letting her angry emotions getting the better of her.

"Disrespectful? I just have a problem with authority figures, I guess," he answered sarcastically.

"I'm going to ask you again. What do you want?"

"Alright, alright, chill. I ain't here to ruffle your feathers, however hilarious that may be when I do it," he shrugged. Quistis kept up her warning stare.

"Just get to the point."

"Sure thing. I spoke with your dear commander earlier today, and he suggested I talk to you. Of course, I'd _much_ prefer not to, but I guess I have no choice, now do I?"

"Squall sent you?" she asked, a bit surprised, raising her eyebrows.

"You bet. I'll get right down to the nitty gritty. I think Caraway's hiding something, and I want to find out what it is."

Quistis rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm not a psychic, Seifer. Don't know how I can help you," she replied. She looked back down and went back to shuffling papers hoping he'd go away.

"Honestly, I don't know either. I'd prefer not talking to a _blonde_ about anything serious. But, here I am," he grinned, hoping for a response. Much to his disappointment, he didn't get one. Quistis internally giggled.

'Out of everything he could come up with, he makes fun of the fact that I'm blonde? He's slacking.'

"Squall said you went into the sewers via Caraway's mansion. Did you find anything?"

This shocked Quistis a tad, as she promptly put her stack of papers down and looked back up.

"The sewers? What does that have to do with anything?"

"None of _your_ business, but all of mine. So, did you find anything?"

"Excuse me!" she said, borderline yelling. "If Squall sent you here to talk about something Caraway might be hiding, then it _is_ my business. If you want to have a civil discussion, I suggest you drop the rebellious bullshit!" She slammed her fist down on the desk. Seifer wasn't quite expecting this response, and he jumped a little. Despite that he wasn't expecting it, he kind of...liked it. Seeing someone so proper and correct use profanity and get angry kind of turned him on. Guess it was time to cut the crap.

"Fine. Fine. I'll just start from the top. I have some informants in Deling City monitoring Caraway. He's been suspicious as of late. First of all, did it ever occur to you to ask why in the hell Caraway would have a hidden passage to the _sewers_ in his living room?" he began.

She was taken aback by the question. "I…I guess it didn't. I was so busy at the time, I never wondered. Now that you mention it, it_ is_ a little weird."

"Only a little?" the knight raised an eyebrow. "Anyway. So if that wasn't odd enough, he goes into the sewer every night, and all electronics are jammed down there."

"I see. You think he may be hiding something down there."

"Precisely."

"Well, we didn't find anything down there."

"I figured. Was there anything in his mansion that you found odd?"

"Other than the sewers, not really."

Seifer sighed, beginning to get frustrated. He just wanted answers, and he wasn't getting any.

"Okay. Let me ask you this, then. How'd you come upon the hidden passage in the first place? Obviously Caraway wasn't in the room at the time."

"No, no. We got locked in."

"What? He locked you guys in during an assassination mission?" Now things weren't making any sense at all. If Zone and Watts were correct with their surveillance, Caraway needed the mission to go as planned. Why jeopardize that by locking one of the teams in his living room?

"No," she chuckled. "He was trying to lock in Rinoa. He didn't want her to get involved. We showed up right as she slipped through," she explained.

"Oookay? But why were you back there in the first place? Shouldn't you have been in position?" Now things made even less sense.

"We came back to apologize to Rinoa. I'd been a little hard on her. She came up with a plan of her own to stop the sorceress, and I just overreacted."

"Well, nothing surprising about that. You've always been bossy as hell." Quistis shot him a glare and crossed her arms. "But that is interesting. What kind of plan did Rinoa have?"

"Ugh, how is any of this relevant, Seifer? It has nothing to do with the sewer. I've got work to do!" she began to get irritated by these nonsense questions. If it weren't for Squall being the one who sent him, she wouldn't have even let him in the room, let alone tolerate him this far.

"C'mon. The more I know, the more I can help."

"Is that what you're _really _trying to do?" she casted an accusatory glance his way.

"You don't trust me either," he smirked.

"Nope."

"Then let me ask you this, _Headmaster_. Why would I organize informants to spy on Caraway and then feed the information back to Squall, and _then_ stick my neck out to save you guys?"

"Simple. You're trying to frame Caraway to oust him from power and reclaim your position. Saving us is an attempt to make allies so that Garden doesn't interfere."

Seifer began laughing hysterically. Quistis watched on, her arms still crossed. After a few moments, the conversation resumed.

"I'm not going to lie, that was pretty well thought out. But you're just paranoid."

"Am I? Seifer, you've never desired to help anyone. Why start now? Why should I believe you?"

The knight sighed and then remained silent. After a minute or so, "Could we just get back to the conversation?" Quistis figured that if Squall sent him, he probably trusted him, though he'd really have to explain his reasoning at some point. If Seifer didn't want to discuss personal issues with her, she couldn't really blame him. She obliged with the request.

"Yeah, so. Rinoa had found an Odine bangle in Caraway's bedroom. She planned on getting the sorceress to wear it."

This piqued Seifer's intrigue. He sat up more straightly. "What's an Odine bangle?"

"You mean you didn't know? It was made by Dr. Odine. If a sorceress wears one, it's supposed to suppress her powers. Of course, the effects are still untested. Which is why I berated Rinoa about her plan."

Seifer looked down and his mind began racing. Why would Caraway have such an obscure item with that kind of capability in his bedroom? And how would he get one if it's Odine who made it? The gears started turning, and then finally, something clicked.

"One…more question," he began, head still down pondering. "Didn't Esthar have something to do with the worldwide radio interference that jams certain electronics?"

"Yeah. When they launched Adel's Tomb into space, the resonance caused by the power sealing her overran all radio waves."

He felt his heart began racing. He was pretty sure he was on to something big. Some things just lined up too perfectly. Realizing he was still in Quistis' office, he said, "Thanks," then promptly got up and walked away. If he was correct, he knew what Caraway was hiding. He hoped he was wrong.


	17. Never a Dull Moment

_**Never a Dull Moment**_

Sleep didn't come easy to Squall that night. Constantly, he reflected on the dispute he and Rinoa had earlier. What should he have said instead? What shouldn't he have said? He came to the conclusion he shouldn't have said anything. Every word out of his mouth only served to infuriate his girlfriend. He turned over to his other side, glimpsing at his clock. 2:34 in the morning. Great.

This had been the first time since the conclusion of the Ultimecia campaign that he slept alone. Rinoa had gone to Quistis and requested her own boarding for the night. Though Quistis was dying to know what happened, she knew she couldn't ask personal questions during an administrative request. She did let Squall know, though, that his girlfriend had stopped by, and wouldn't be sleeping with him that night.

Loneliness washed over his soul like a torrential downpour. His only source of comfort in these trying times had been Rin, and he found he actually enjoyed the physical act of cuddling. It allowed him to get to sleep much easier. Normally, it took him hours to fall into a comfortable slumber, as he frequently got too caught up in his thoughts. But when he cuddled his girlfriend, he slept like a baby. No concerns. No questions. No comments. He tossed and turned again.

What troubled him most was the subject of the argument. Was Rinoa truly unhappy at Garden? It just seemed to pop up out of nowhere. He recalled back to his first trip to Timber, when she requested he take her back to Garden to lay low following the assault on Deling. Once she got there, she seemed in awe of everything. She had gone so far as to wake him up and ask for a personal tour of Garden. She had no trouble in fitting in at all. Her positivity was contagious to everyone around her.

If she honestly didn't want to be there, what could he do? He had a responsibility to Garden. He couldn't just leave. But he also couldn't not be with Rinoa. He turned over again, placing his hand under his head. For his entire life, he thought his purpose was to become the best SeeD in history. His daily routine was eat, train, study, sleep, repeat. But when she came into the picture, it all changed. He changed. For the better, he thought. Multiple times, he disregarded his responsibility to SeeD in favor of Rinoa. Very few seemed to mind, thankfully.

Would he have to step down as commander if she wanted to leave? Is that what _he _wanted for himself? He enjoyed being commander. When he was first appointed to the position, it agitated him to no extent. He didn't want the responsibility. He didn't like that Cid made it sound like it was his destiny, something he always desired control over. But in times of adversity, maturity comes a bit more quickly, forcibly. Instead of merely accepting his leadership position, he completely conquered it. Under his command, Garden beat Galbadia in the "War of the Gardens", uncovered the xenophobic Esthar, and stopped a sorceress from the future. Ironically, it wasn't enough, as people kept asking for more and more.

He also found that, while the responsibility was a bit overwhelming at times, he enjoyed having a say in Garden's actions. If someone else were to have assumed the role, he might not have agreed with their decisions. Garden was his home. He never imagined living anywhere else. And every resident in a home wants to have some kind of say in the way their household is run. He was thankful that he had that.

The conflict within him was maddening. If Rinoa left, where would she go? Timber? He didn't want to go to Timber. There was nothing to do there. Then again, no matter what city he thought of, he couldn't imagine living there. Esthar was cool until he had found out about Laguna. He did not want to live within a fifty mile radius of that clown. Things were still incredibly awkward after they'd had a "paternal conversation" following the defeat of Ultimecia.

He wanted to turn over again, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Every little thing was just frustrating.

'Maybe I should do some late night training? It might wear me out enough to get some sleep.'

He sat up, and reached under his bed to grab his boots. After tying them, he stood up and sheathed Lionheart.

'Alright, let's do this.'

He went to exit the room, and stopped in front of the door to examine his handiwork.

'Should've taken a shop class. Oh well.'

Right as he went to exit the room, an alarm on his desk sounded. This alarm was installed when the addition to the second floor hallway came about. The alarm meant that someone had somehow accessed the confidential hallway without permission.

'Caraway!' He rushed out the door, moving as quickly as possible to the elevator, Lionheart already in hand. The elevator seemed to take forever coming down from the third floor, even though it took the same amount of time it always did.

'We need to put in a staircase in case something like this happens again.' He thumped his foot impatiently while waiting. Finally, the elevator came down, and he rushed in and tapped the "2" button.

How someone was able to compromise the security door leading to the hallway way beyond him. He had no doubt, though, that this incident had something to do with Caraway. Damn. And before an interrogation could even be conducted. The elevator stopped, and he ran off. He rounded the hallway and saw that the door leading to the hallway was indeed open. No time to check for damage now, though.

He ran past a couple of doors towards Caraway's cell. To his surprise, Caraway was still inside, smiling very smugly.

"Alright, Caraway. Mind telling me what the hell is going on?" He glared through the bars at the Galbadian president.

Caraway didn't respond. He just continued smiling. Squall took one step towards the cell, about to tear Caraway apart for whatever was going on, when he suddenly heard a BANG. And then the world went white.

* * *

><p>Seifer was pacing around back and forth. His comrades simply stared at him from their respective beds.<p>

"So uh, Seifer," Raijin began. The former knight just kept pacing as if in some form of walking meditation. "Mind telling us what's on your mind, ya know?"

Seifer stopped in front of the large window and gazed out. "I think I've figured out what secret Caraway is hiding. And thus," he spun around with a smirk on his face, "where our next destination is." Both members of the posse sat up with inquisitive looks.

"So, I take it the meeting with Quistis went well, ya know?"

"Indeed. I think she provided the last couple of missing pieces to the puzzle."

"TELL." Fujin was getting impatient with everything getting drawn out.

"From what we've gathered, that scumbag is hiding something in the sewers, right?"

Both members nodded.

"So let's run through what we know and what possible connections could be made. Electronics are jammed in the sewers. Sound familiar?"

Raijin got a puzzled look on his face, but the quicker Fujin responded with no issue. "WORLDWIDE RADIO INTERFERENCE?"

"Yes!" he clapped his hands. "Now, what, or rather, who caused that?"

"I know this one!" Raijin raised his hand in pride. Seifer shook his head but called on him. "Esthar, right?"

"Very good, Raijin," Seifer mocked. "But, do you know why Esthar did that?"

Both shook their heads.

"Esthar's tomb for Adel, specifically, is what caused that radio interference. That's why there's been electronic jamming for years now. Now, also, Quistis mentioned that during their failed assassination mission, Rinoa came across an Odine Bangle in Caraway's bedroom. You guys know what that is?"

Again, both shook their heads.

"It suppresses a sorceress' powers. Or rather, that's what it's purported to do. I read in the library after my meeting that the effects are still unknown. While they do suppress magical powers, there's nothing to prevent the sorceress from just taking it off. So, it's not a permanent solution."

"Okay? So, where are ya going with this, ya know?" The wheels were turning in Fujin's head, but the last piece of the puzzle was still eluding her.

"Galbadia is trying to start a war with Esthar. They KNOW that their military is no threat to Esthar's supremely advanced technology. What could turn the tides of that battle in Galbadia's favor?"

There were several moments of pause before Fujin responded, her eyes a bit wide in shock, hoping she was wrong.

"SORCERESS?"

Seifer snapped his fingers and pointed to Fujin, smiling. "Exactly. And if you guys recall, our little birdies on the inside recorded a conversation with Caraway and one of his generals, before Caraway killed him. Do you guys remember what he claimed he had on his side?"

This time, there was no question, only an answer. "A sorceress…" Raijin answered, sounding frightened. "But wasn't that Rinoa?"

"No. My guess is this: he has, for some time, had a sorceress SEALED down there, much like Esthar sealed Adel. But only recently has he found a way to control her. This is why our electronics were jammed: he's using the same technology as Esthar to seal a sorceress. Why the Odine bangle? He wishes to control her. And why the sewers in the first place? Well, we've already been over this, to hide something."

The two took a moment to ponder this. Could that REALLY be what Caraway was hiding? What would that mean? Every time a sorceress had been involved, it always spelled trouble. For everyone. They swore off sorceresses after Ultimecia. And if a sorceress was aligned with Galbadia? They shuddered at the thought.

"So," Raijin looked up. "I guess we're goin' to Deling City?" He asked, afraid he already knew the answer.

"You got it!" He placed his hand on his hip.

"Man…I didn't want to have to deal with anymore sorceresses, ya know?" Seifer's comrade looked down, frowning.

"AGREED," the white-haired woman placed her hand over her heart for emphasis.

"Meh, it'll be fine, guys. We have the advantage now that we know what he's …" Seifer was cut off by a loud BANG. Each member of the Posse jumped, startled, busting their weapons out. They looked around.

"What was that, ya know?" Raijin, wide-eyed, inquired.

"GUNSHOT." Fujin replied, holding her weapon close to her face.

"It sounded like it came from the second floor. C'mon, let's go." Without hesitation, Seifer and his posse ran out of their suite towards the first floor elevator.

"Could…it…be…Caraway….ya know?" Raijin asked between breaths while running.

Seifer gripped Hyperion tighter. "I…don't know. Nobody's…usually out…this late," he huffed.

As they neared the elevator, they spotted two other people running towards it, from the opposite end of the circular fountain. One, dressed in blue, he recognized as Rinoa. The other, hilariously clad in duck pajamas, was Xu. Seifer tried to hide a chuckle, despite the seriousness of the situation.

The Posse reached the elevator first and packed in. A few breaths later, Xu entered the elevator as well.

"I don't wanna hear anything about my attire. Got it?" she said, giving a piercing look to the posse.

Raijin nodded out of fear, Fujin remained quiet and looked away. Leave it to Seifer to retort.

"Hey, nobody looks at your 'attire' in your pictures, anyway! After all, your duck face selfies are just sooo sexy," he winked. Xu kicked him in the shin, not amused. Raijin rolled his eyes. He loved Seifer like a brother, but that was a lame response. Then again, at this time of morning, it would've been difficult to come up with something more clever, he reasoned.

Rinoa reached the elevator, but hesitated for a moment, glancing at Seifer. She wasn't sure she wanted to be confined in an elevator with those three, especially Seifer. And especially after what he did to her. But, she quickly realized, there was no time for personal vendettas. Something was going on, and it most likely involved her father. Seifer noticed the glance and momentary hesitation and smirked. The young sorceress entered the elevator, and Raijin pushed the "2" button.

They didn't know whether the gunshot came from the second or third floor, but seeing as how Caraway was on the second floor, and he would be the man attracting such attention, the second floor was their best bet.

They bolted off the elevator as soon as it stopped. They rounded the corner where the 2F classroom is, only to see that the door leading to the "secret hallway" was wide open. Not slowing down they pressed forward, Seifer and Xu mentally checking their junctions, always prepared.

As soon as they came upon Caraway's cell, they all stopped and gasped at the sight before them. The cell was empty, but that wasn't the startling aspect of the situation. In front of the cell were three bodies. Two of them were the SeeD guards Squall and Quistis assigned to Caraway. The third body was Squall's, lying face down. There was blood everywhere. Rinoa immediately broke down, running over to him. Xu jumped into action, being the highest ranking SeeD present.

"Raijin, Fujin, check him," she pointed to one of the downed guards. "Seifer, be on guard." She ran over to the remaining guard. He was sitting limp in a corner, blood running down the walls behind him. She placed her finger on his neck for a pulse. None. She tried again on his hand. None. He was gone. She looked for the cause of death and it was quickly apparent. A gunshot wound to the head.

Raijin called out to Xu. "He's…dead…ya know. No pulse." Xu looked down and shook her head, starting to shake. Everyone in the area looked towards Rinoa, who had went to examine Squall.

Squall was face down, blood on the ground underneath his head. She rolled him over, getting blood on her hands. She quickly realized he had been shot in the head as well.

"HE'S GOT A PULSE!" she cried out. Everyone ran over to him.

"Rinoa, heal him!" Seifer instructed. Rinoa, without hesitation, tapped into her sorceress powers to muster a strong cure spell.

"NO!" Xu quickly yelled. "If you heal the wound, the bullet will be left in there!"

Rinoa was getting exponentially more emotional by the second.

"IF SHE DOESN'T HEAL HIM, HE'll DIE!" Seifer bellowed, not believing what he was hearing.

Just then, feet appeared behind them with simultaneous, loud gasps. There stood Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine.

"SQUALL!" Zell ran over and knelt down beside him. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

"Quistis," Xu began very quickly, "I know you're the ranking official here, but I feel the need to step in right now. We have a chance to save him," she looked down at everyone kneeling by Squall.

"Selphie, as quickly as you can, go get Doctor Kadowaki. Send her to the infirmary. Zell, Irvine, you need to carry Squall AS CAREFULLY AS POSSIBLE to the infirmary. Raijin, Fujin, accompany them to the infirmary in case of an attack on the way there. Seifer, stay here." Seifer grunted at being ordered around, but figured it was the best move at the moment. Though Squall's life was important, there were other pressing matters that he would be needed for, namely, Caraway's escape. "Quistis, go sound the Garden alarm to put all SeeD on alert." Quistis nodded and ran out towards the elevator.

"I'm going with Squall!" Rinoa claimed, quickly. Xu nodded, not expecting anything different. Selphie bolted off down the corridor with nearly superhuman speed. Zell and Irvine, still confused beyond belief at what was happening, did as instructed and lifted Squall up at an angle that blood wouldn't pour out as quickly.

Tears rolled down Rinoa's face, and her blue nightgown was now nearly soaked with tears and blood. She struggled to catch her breath in between sobs. Xu looked at her with empathy, praying Squall would be okay. Squall was such a good man and friend to her. She just hoped she made the right decision in not letting Rinoa heal him right away. Within mere moments, the scene became Xu, Seifer, and two dead SeeDs.

"Seifer, we need to check the immediate area for any clues or suspects."

"Affirmative, commander Daffy," he said, before running off. Xu rolled her eyes. Not much had changed, she guessed.

Seifer continued down the secret hallway, running past several sealed doors.

'Nothing out of the ordinary,' he pressed on. When he came upon the fourth door on the right, however, he noticed that the door had been blown to bits by a silent bomb.

'Who the hell would make all that noise with a gun, but then attempt to be silent with a bomb?' he thought. It just didn't make any sense.

He ran into the room and examined the mess that stood before him. On the ground was a man, dead, with blood everywhere. It only took a glance to see that it was another shot to the head. He raised Hyperion on guard. He figured that this room was struck after Caraway was released. Caraway would have higher priority than whatever was in this room. Which meant, if they had reached the crime scene with any speed at all, the suspects might still be in the room somewhere.

Seifer took in the surroundings. The room was actually very large. It was a laboratory. One whole side of the room was a supercomputer and panel. Throughout the room, there were crates full of weird objects, papers strewn everywhere, and a bunch of scientific looking equipment.

He maneuvered around the room, on guard. After several moments, Xu finally entered and glanced around.

"Find anything?"

"Nope. Just a dead guy."

'Well, that's a way to put it, asshole,' Xu thought, rolling her eyes yet again. Something about Seifer always rubbed her the wrong way.

"Is this a lab?" the former Knight asked.

"Let's check the rest of the hallway," she said, before running off again.

That piqued Seifer's fascination. Why would she just avoid that question? Was it because she didn't trust him? As interesting as this was, he knew there were more pressing issues at hand. He ran off towards Xu.

Continuing down the circular secret hallway, there were several more sealed doors. At the end of the hallway, Xu came out of the last sealed door.

"Area clear. No sign of the suspects anywhere in the hallway."

It was at that moment that the Garden alarm sounded.

"I guess Quistis got to the third floor without a hitch. Soon, SeeD will be scouring every inch of Garden."

Seifer nodded. "We should get up to the third floor, too." Xu agreed, and they ran off down the hallway. Xu resealed the door to the secret hallway upon leaving.

"We should check the balcony and classroom, too, since we didn't do that on the way up," Seifer suggested, always thinking strategically. Xu nodded and followed him. The classroom was empty, as kind of expected. An escaped criminal wouldn't go to the classroom. Still, better to be safe than sorry. They proceeded on to the balcony.

Seifer examined the area quickly.

'No sign of…what's that?' From atop the balcony, a small light caught Seifer's eye.

"Xu!" She ran over. He pointed to the light. From a distance, they could see a car speeding towards Balamb town.

"I guess we've found our escapee! C'mon, to the third floor!" she instructed.

While running towards the elevator, he supposed that it only made sense. If Caraway escaped, which he clearly did, the only way off Balamb was through Balamb town. Either via the port or the train station.

They got in the elevator and went up. As soon as they got there, they found Quistis in the office.

"Quistis!"

"Xu! Report! What the hell is going on?" Quistis said, her eyes red from crying. She was clearly worried about Squall.

"Quistis, he's headed towards Balamb town! We saw a speeding car from the balcony." Quistis nodded.

They ran up to the elevator leading to the bridge. Quistis went directly towards the intercom.

"Attention, SeeD! Attention, SeeD! Prepare for Garden to be mobilized! I repeat, prepare for Garden to be mobilized! Be prepared for battle at any time. I need an investigation squad to report to the third floor, immediately. Over." She hung up the mic.

As if on cue, the elevator came up once again, revealing Nida.

"Quistis! What's going on!?" he yelled, groggily. The commotion had clearly startled him from his sleep.

"First, get Garden mobile. Right now. I'll explain while you're doing it." Nida didn't bother with a salute, he went right to work with the controls. "Caraway has escaped and is heading towards Balamb. The two SeeDs guarding him are dead. Squall is…" she looked down, a tear rolling down her cheek. Nida froze and stopped what he was doing.

"SQUALL IS WHAT!?" his eyes started tearing up.

"Squall was shot in the head. He's alive, but needs immediate medical attention, which he should be getting right now," Xu explained.

Nida dropped to his knees and starting sniffling.

"NIDA!" Quistis snapped at him. "I understand how you must be feeling, but this isn't the time. GET GARDEN MOBILE!" He nodded and stood back up, working the controls again.

"Quistis," Xu began. The headmaster turned around. "The second floor laboratory was broken into. No idea what was taken, if anything, but the head scientist was killed. Shot in the head."

Quistis' eyes widened. Seifer immediately took notice. There was something they were hiding about that room. The feel of Garden moving began to stir. Within seconds, Garden would be on its way to Balamb town.

"Xu," Quistis began, "get on the phone with the mayor of Balamb. Tell him to stop all trains and boats leaving Balamb. That's an order from Garden." Xu saluted, and took the elevator down, getting right to work.

Quistis sighed, exasperated at everything that was occurring. There was much work to be done at the moment.

"Yo," Seifer finally spoke up. "You mind telling me what's up with that lab?"

"There's no time for this right now."

"Oh really?" Seifer began getting upset. "What have you got to do until we get to Balamb?"

"Excuse me? I have to mobilize SeeD to be ready to storm Balamb! That's what the hell I have to do! Don't belittle my position, here!" She yelled. Nida blushed. He felt uneasy being in the presence of confrontation.

"Do you STILL not trust me? Is that fucking it?" he punched the air.

"It's not that, Seifer, I promise! Not even the others know about the existence of that lab. I'll tell you all together. And NOW is NOT the time for that!" she snapped.

"Tch, fine." He took the elevator down, planning to go see Raijin and Fujin in the infirmary.

In ran three members of what he assumed to be an investigation squad. No doubt, they'd be tasked with cleaning up the bodies on the second floor. They took the elevator up to report to Quistis.

* * *

><p>The scene on the first floor of Garden could only be described in one word: chaos. SeeDs were running everywhere, many in their pajamas and nightgowns. Weapons were being drawn, and Seifer could feel the magical energy in the area increase, meaning people were junctioning. Screams were heard coming from every direction, unaware and afraid of what was going on. It only made sense, Seifer thought. After all they've gone through in the past month, there's no telling what threat could face them next. And to top that off, that threat is coming in the wee hours of the morning. That's a rude awakening, if there ever was one.<p>

When he finally reached the infirmary, the scene was a mess. Rinoa, whose wailing could be heard down the hall, was an emotional wreck. Selphie was crying as well. Raijin and Fujin were guarding the entrance. Irvine and Zell were conversing loudly, clearly upset at what was occurring. He spotted a room in the infirmary with the sheets closed, meaning it was vacated. Squall, no doubt. Kadowaki would surely be tending to him.

He walked up to his posse.

"What's the news?"

"Kadowaki's not sure if Squall will make it, ya know?"

Seifer felt a pang in his chest. He had hated Squall for the longest time, but he did feel a camaraderie with him. He now considered Squall an ally, and didn't wish for him to pass.

"ANGRY."

"Yeah, Rinoa is pissed with Xu, ya know? When Kadowaki said Squall might not make it, Rinoa began cursing like a Dollet sailor!"

Seifer sighed. "Xu was right, in hindsight. I understand how she feels, though."

At this moment, Zell and Irvine walked over to join the conversation.

"Seifer, you guys find anything?" Irvine asked, tipping his cowboy hat. Zell, who usually couldn't stand to be in Seifer's presence, put his personal feelings aside. Rinoa had told him that Seifer and his gang were among the first to respond and help out. Plus, he had helped save them in Deling, so he couldn't be mad at the moment. He had no problem knocking Seifer's lights out if he had too, though.

"Yeah. There was some lab in that hallway that was broken into. The head scientist is dead. And we found Caraway. He's on his way to Balamb, which is why we're being mobilized."

"That son of a bitch!" Zell gritted his teeth. "I'm gonna bash his skull in!"

Irvine, being the more logical at the moment, kept asking. "What if we don't get there in time? He could escape!"

"Xu took care of it. Balamb town is shutting down all trains and boats exiting."

"Oh…what lab?"

'So the bitch headmaster was telling the truth. They don't know.'

"Why don't you ask your dear 'Headmaster'? She wouldn't tell me. I was in the room, though, and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then again, I'm no scientist."

"Are you saying Quistis is hiding something from us?" Zell asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Welp, she said she'll tell all of us together, so I'm assuming so," Seifer smirked, putting his hand on his hip.

That wasn't like Quistis, Zell reasoned. Anything that goes on in Garden, they should know about.

About that time, the intercom came on.

"Attention, SeeD. Attention, SeeD." The voice was Quistis'. "Let me brief you on the situation. We are nearing Balamb town. Every SeeD level 15 and above will enter Balamb. Your target is Galbadian president Caraway. He has escaped our custody. Two of our fellow SeeDs are dead. And…Commander Squall was shot in the head. Caraway is to be apprehended dead or alive. There will be justice for our fallen SeeDs! No mercy! Every SeeD under level 15 is to remain in Garden and protect it against any possible threats. Any unusual people, behavior, or objects, are to be reported immediately. Over and out."

"Well, that's a hell of an announcement to hear at 3:16 in the morning," Seifer said.


End file.
